Nearly month post-launch,Haiying Jiake, China's first private research vessel, still waits for client. Built for 150 million yuan (around US$22 million),this 82-meter,3,500-tonne ship was funded by 37 fishermen from Zhejiang. Designed for global work, even in thin sea ice,it aims to support varied research — from seabed mapping to deep-sea surveys.
But despite its capabilities,ship hasn't landed its first contract. Cai Yunjie, 51, former fisherman leading project,admits uncertainty about financial prospects. “We still do not have a clear plan for how the ship will make money,” he said to state-owned Science and Technology Daily.
Running Haiying Jiake costs plenty,with daily expenses in hundreds of thousands of yuan . Annual costs top 10 million yuan,says Chen Jiawang, deputy director at East China Sea Laboratory. Main issue? No real market for private research ships in China. Most are university or government-owned,backed by public funds…
