This will be the largest aquarium in the world. The aquarium is 50 meters by 100 meters, with the depth of 15 meters, and it is the largest of its kind in the world. (image courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City)
Busan, Korea, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea is to develop the largest maritime engineering aquarium in the world for deep-sea research purposes, such as simulation experiments for the construction of maritime plants.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the city of Busan hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on February 13.
The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), in collaboration with the Busan city government and heavy industry giants such as Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo, will develop a 100-meter long, 50-meter wide and 15-meter deep aquarium in which an artificial deep-sea environment will be created for maritime engineering research.
The artificial environment will be similar to a 3,000-meter deep maritime environment, equipped with an apparatus that will create water currents identical to those in the deep-sea. The aquarium is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, with operations set to start in 2017.
The marine engineering aquarium in the Netherlands is 36 meters by 45 meters with the depth of 10.3 meters, and the aquarium built by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China is 40 meters by 50 meters with the depth of 10 meters, according to Yonhap’s previous reports.
Research center for Maritime Engineering Research (image courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City)
Korean maritime engineers have been relying on overseas aquarium operating bodies to conduct simulations for maritime plants and machineries, since the one existing maritime engineering aquarium in Korea is not suitable for the construction of large experiments.
Korean authorities are expecting the Korean maritime plant industry to make a big leap forward with the new facility, and to become a leader in the global market.
By J.W. Choi (summerchoi@koreabizwire.com)
