Recently, the ‘Haiying Jiake’, China’s first ocean-going multi-purpose research vessel built entirely with private capital, was successfully launched in Songmen, Wenling. The vessel was constructed with 150 million yuan jointly raised by 37 local fishermen, filling a gap in the industry for large-scale ocean-going research vessels funded by private capital. Taizhou Kailun Marine Electrical & Mechanical Co., Ltd. supplied marine lifesaving equipment for this project. The products successfully passed all inspection and acceptance tests, thereby establishing a crucial safeguard for the vessel’s safety during ocean voyages.
The Haiying Jiake has an overall length of 82 metres and a full load displacement of 3,500 tonnes. It is certified for navigation in all sea areas and has an endurance of over 60 days, enabling it to undertake scientific research missions—such as marine geological surveys, biological resource surveys and offshore wind farm surveys—in the open ocean and near-ice regions. The vessel operates in a wide range of environments with complex sea conditions, including extreme cold, high salt spray and heavy seas, which place technical demands on the structural strength, corrosion resistance and reliability of emergency release mechanisms that far exceed those of ordinary commercial vessels. Drawing on many years of experience in the research, development and manufacture of marine equipment, Kailun Marine has tailored a comprehensive range of lifesaving system solutions to meet the specific requirements of the vessel’s crew complement, deck layout and the nature of deep-sea scientific research operations. These solutions include fully enclosed lifeboats and gravity-launch davits, with all products manufactured in strict compliance with the SOLAS Convention and China’s statutory inspection rules for seagoing vessels.
During the project collaboration, the company’s technical team liaised with the shipyard’s design department at an early stage to optimise the installation points and dimensions of the davits based on the hull structure, thereby avoiding potential interference issues during subsequent installation; During the production phase, we strictly adhered to three quality control checkpoints: incoming raw materials, semi-finished product processing, and finished product dispatch. To withstand the harsh conditions of deep-sea operations, the steel structural components of the equipment were treated with thickened anti-corrosion coatings, whilst the lifeboat hulls were constructed from high-strength, flame-retardant fibreglass. These hulls feature a self-righting mechanism, enabling automatic repositioning following accidental capsizing, thereby meeting the requirements for abandoning ship in extreme sea conditions. Upon delivery of the equipment to the shipyard, our on-site technical staff remain on-site to coordinate with the construction team, overseeing the entire process of hoisting, installation and commissioning. We work in collaboration with the classification society to complete key acceptance tests, such as launching trials and load tests, ensuring the lifesaving equipment is perfectly integrated with the vessel’s hull.
With many years of experience in the Taizhou marine supply industry, Kailun Marine began by supplying marine electrical equipment and has gradually expanded its product range to include lifesaving equipment and deck machinery. The company’s products are routinely supplied to a wide range of vessels, including deep-sea fishing vessels, engineering vessels and container ships. It has provided complete sets of compliant lifesaving equipment for the Zhongshun Kehao 10 and various types of marine work vessels. Thanks to its consistent quality and rapid localised service, the company has established an excellent reputation within the eastern Zhejiang shipbuilding industry chain. The supply of equipment for the ‘Haiying Jiake’ marks a significant milestone in the company’s formal entry into the private-sector oceanographic research vessel sector. The fact that fishermen have self-funded the construction of this research vessel represents an innovative exploration of private-sector involvement in marine scientific research. As a local supplier, Kailun leverages its geographical advantages of local production and local service to respond efficiently to the project’s construction schedule, effectively shortening equipment delivery times and reducing the distance for subsequent maintenance and servicing.
The Haiying Jiake is currently in the outfitting and instrument commissioning phase and is scheduled to commence sea trials shortly. Subsequently, our company will establish a dedicated after-sales service file, conduct regular on-site inspections in accordance with the vessel’s operation and maintenance plan, and assist the shipowner in carrying out periodic maintenance of lifesaving equipment and practical drills. Moving forward, Kailun Shipbuilding will use this project as a foundation to further explore supporting technologies for specialised scientific research vessels. We will optimise the development of lifesaving equipment for deep-sea and sub-polar vessels, continuously refine domestically produced marine lifesaving equipment, and keep pace with trends in domestic marine development and private scientific research. We remain committed to providing safe and reliable supporting products for all types of scientific research vessels and specialised engineering vessels, thereby contributing to the high-quality development of Zhejiang’s shipbuilding industry.
Source and Citation Notes
Nature of this article: Official corporate press release. All publicly available information—including vessel specifications, project background, launch details and industry positioning—is sourced from official and authoritative media reports. Content relating to the company’s partnerships is authentic and independently verified; the information is objective and factual, with no exaggerated or fabricated statements.
Authoritative References (Official Public Sources):
1. ‘China’s First Privately Funded Research Vessel Launched in Wenling, Zhejiang’ | Xinhua News Agency, 5 May 2026
2. ‘China’s First Privately Funded Ocean-Class Research Vessel Launched’ | Taizhou Municipal People’s Government Official Website (reprinted from Taizhou Daily), 6 May 2026
3. “37 Fishermen Raise 150 Million Yuan: China’s First Entirely Privately Funded Research Vessel Launched in Wenling” | Zhejiang Daily, 6 May 2026
4. ‘Private Research Vessel Launched in Wenling, Zhejiang; Fishermen Raise 150 Million Yuan to Build Ship for “Exploring and Protecting the Seas”’ | China News Network, 5 May 2026
5. ‘China’s First Privately Funded Comprehensive Oceanographic Research Vessel Launched’ | China Water Transport Network, 7 May 2026
