Aquatec Submersible Offshore Floating Marine Cage Launching at the ‘Offshore Mariculture Conference Asia 2018’ Event

The first to be developed in Southeast Asia, this Indonesian-made offshore floating marine cage technology has caught global attention.

The Offshore Mariculture Conference Asia 2018 event held in Singapore on May 15th to 17th was joined by various experts in offshore marine cultivation field from all around the world.

The purpose of this conference which was attended by FAO is to discuss various obstacles in building offshore marine cultivation business, along with the solutions. The topics of discussion involved hatchery, grow-out, and marketing. One of the speaker from Indonesia is Andi Jayaprawira Sunadim, the General Manager of PT. Gani Arta Dwitunggal, a producer of Aquatec offshore floating marine cage.

At the event, Andi described his experience with Budiprawira, the Director of PT. Gani Arta Dwitunggal, in designing and implementing submersible offshore floating marine cages in Southeast Asia, with the title: “Developing Offshore Submersible Cage in Southeast Asia”.

As previously known, an offshore marine cage is a marine cage designed for offshore marine installation. A submersible offshore marine cage is an offshore marine cage that can be submerged into the water and refloated. The purpose is to withstand typhoon storms and high waves that constantly struck Southeast Asian countries.

Andi opened the presentation by talking about the cultivated fishery potential in Southeast Asia. In 2015, Southeast Asia produced approximately 11 million tons of cultivated fish and has contributed to 12.4% of the total cultivated fish production in the world. Most of the cultivated fish in Southeast Asia are produced from only three countries; Indonesia, Vietnam, and Philippines.

The problem is, data shows that marine cultivated fish production, or mariculture, is still considerably low compared to freshwater cultivated fish production. This shows that the marine potential in Southeast Asia has yet to be optimally utilized. One of the factors hindering mariculture business is the typhoon storm.

Two out of three largest cultivated fish producing countries in Southeast Asia, that are Vietnam and Philippines, face typhoon storm on annual basis. The typhoon may hit between the month of July and October, carrying waves up to 11 meters high. In 2013, Haiyan Typhoon in Philippines caused 6,340 human casualties and USD 4.55 billion damage.

Typhoon causes huge risks in mariculture businesses in both countries, which deters investments.

Andi said, to overcome typhoon storms, the right marine cage technology is needed, and Aquatec submersible offshore marine cage is the solution. This marine cage has been installed offshore in Situbondo (East Java) and even in Lingshui (Hainan, China). “The Aquatec offshore marine cage installed at Lingshui has been proven to be able to withstand typhoon storm and 9-meter high waves. This is because the marine cage was submerged 15 meters deep under the water surface,” Andi explained.

Aquatec submersible offshore marine cage is designed for easy operation; it can be submerged within 5-minute time with only two technicians, and can be resurfaced within 10-minute time. This enables a quick response when typhoon hits. The maintenance is also relatively easy; the net can be lifted to the surface for easy washing and replacement. In addition, another prominent factor of this domestic product is its economical price.

With regards to the Southeast Asia market that is dominated by mostly middle class business people, Andi stated that the technology offered by Aquatec is much more economical in price compared to similar technology from Europe and United States. The product is ready for both domestic and international market for offshore fish cultivation.

Among all the speakers who are mostly from western countries, a solution offered by one of our own surely gives a new breath of fresh air. The breakthrough which has been implemented by Aquatec is the first in Southeast Asia, created by Indonesia for the world.

A video of the submersible offshore marine cage can be viewed in Video Aquatec