WONG PEI TING Today Online 7 Sep 17;
SINGAPORE — Could supplying rigs for fish farming feature in Keppel Offshore and Marine’s future?
The rig designer and builder has, in the past year, adapted the structures typically used for the drilling of oil for modern fish farming.
It showcased a prototype of its aquaculture model for the first time yesterday at an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) exhibition.
Developed from October last year in a bid to diversify the group’s offshore technologies, the prototype consists of a semi-submersible — a raised platform above sea level connected to a floating ring pontoon by columns — attached to six hexagonal fish cages.
The cages, which are submerged underwater to minimise sea surface obstruction, can be controlled remotely and raised above sea level to harvest fish or for maintenance or repair.
The platform above water can house hatcheries to supply healthy fish fry, as well as an operations centre to manage a gamut of activities from feeding, cage cleaning and inspection, to tracking the health, diet and growth of the fish.
There could also be a processing plant to fillet, package and chill the fish.
Launching the URA’s Urban Lab exhibition yesterday, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon told reporters Keppel’s offshore aquaculture hub is an innovative concept with the potential to “take away the constraints of coastal farming” and “move (fish farming) out into the open sea where you can actually go deeper”.
“Production value can increase as well,” added Dr Koh. The bulk of Singapore’s 125 fish farms are coastal farms; only seven are land-based.
The Norwegians are already converting traditional deep-sea rig platforms — proven to be able to withstand huge waves — for deep-sea salmon farming, said Dr Koh, who recently visited the country on a study trip.
“I think it is good that Singapore companies like Keppel are looking at some of these areas as well, and who knows ... I hope they can work with some of our local farmers to make it a reality for Singapore as well.”
Keppel declined to share more details as the idea is at the preliminary stage.
TODAY understands the offshore aquaculture hub can be customised to support production of anywhere from 200 tonnes of fish to more than 3,000 tonnes. A system the size of a hectare could harvest 1,000 tonnes of fish a year.
Existing offshore fish rigs in Norway are supporting an annual production of about 8,000 tonnes.
Singapore’s fish farms produced 4,851 tonnes of fish last year, or about 10 per cent of total fish consumption.
Fish farmers said such rigs hold the potential to dramatically scale up production but wondered about the costs.
Mr Frank Tan, founder and chief operating officer of Marine Life Aquaculture, said the idea is “very futuristic” and in line with industry needs.
Production levels in his industry “are escalating quite fast” with the adoption of larger sea cages, robotic net washers and fish vaccines, he said.
Mr Tan has contemplated using old tankers stationed offshore to grow annual production from the current 400 tonnes of threadfin, to 5,000 tonnes in four years.
Fish rigs could turn Singapore into a fish exporter, he added.
The enclosures on his farm are 3.5m-deep, and Mr Tan said rearing fish in deeper waters will yield “better quality fish” due to better hydrodynamics.
Cages that extend downwards will also allow more fish to be farmed without occupying a larger surface space.
Mr Timothy Ng, operating manager of 2 Jays farm, which supplies about 10 tonnes of sea bass, snapper and grouper a year, said the model should help farmers produce fish at a cost comparable with current methods.
A system which requires “a lot of investment” by farmers is not sustainable, as smaller farms here are already facing operating costs that are 30 to 40 per cent higher than Malaysia’s, he added.
Fish farmers have been hit by harmful algal blooms in recent years but government efforts are afoot to boost productivity of local farms.
The exhibition, called “Growing More with Less”, will run at the URA Centre atrium until Oct 31.
New wave of high-tech farms aim to grow more with less
Lin Yangchen Straits Times 6 Sep 17;
SINGAPORE - Farms in industrial buildings that grow vegetables under precisely controlled conditions, "high-rise" seafood farming, and farms inside offices - these are some of the next-generation farms featured at a new exhibition launched on Wednesday (Sept 6).
Called Growing More With Less, the exhibition at the URA Centre at Maxwell Road highlighted farms that use novel ideas from other industries and harness the latest technologies to grow more produce with less.
The event was organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in collaboration with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and several commercial partners.
On show until Oct 31, it is the fifth in URA's Urban Lab exhibition series, which started in 2015.
Among the displays at the exhibition are a prototype building under construction in Sweden that grows vegetables in offices where people provide carbon dioxide to the plants which give oxygen in return, and a local "high-rise" seafood farming project by Apollo Aquaculture Group that produces six times more than a traditional fish farm here.
Another featured farm is Sustenir, located in a Sembawang industrial building. It features many levels of vegetable-growing spaces, with precisely controlled lighting and other conditions that can grow vegetables in half the time of and with 95 per cent less water than traditional farming. And there are no pests to worry about, too.
Even major corporations are getting into farming - one of the participants in the exhibition is Keppel Offshore and Marine, which showcases a conceptual model of a large floating fish farm modelled after an oil rig.
URA's acting group director of research and development Chiu Wen Tung said this new wave of farming would not only boost production but also create new jobs attractive to young people, as the farms no longer require manual labour but involve working with control systems not much different from a high-tech production facility.
Guests at URA's "Growing More with Less" exhibition
Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry, who launched the exhibition, said the world needs to produce an increasing amount of food in an increasingly challenging environment affected by factors such as urbanisation and climate change, and that Singapore is faced with even more challenges like land scarcity and high labour costs.
He added that technologies like those showcased at the exhibition will not only help Singapore boost its food security, but also benefit the rest of the world.
Next-gen farming concepts on show at exhibition
New breed of farms can boost output and also attract young people to industry, says URA
Lin Yangchen Straits Times 7 Sep 17;
Oil rigs can do more than just drill for oil, going by the drawing of a monstrous polygonal floating structure that hatches fish, grows them, and processes and packages them all in one place.
The floating fish farm, being developed by the world's largest oil rig builder, Keppel Offshore and Marine, features extensive automation in the feeding, health-monitoring and cleaning of fish in both underwater and above-water facilities.
Although the design is still at the conceptual stage, it demonstrates how farming, an activity normally associated with manual labour and old-fashioned implements, can be engineered into a highly efficient and productive operation.
It is one of the next-generation farming concepts featured in the "Growing More with Less" exhibition launched yesterday at The URA Centre in Maxwell Road, organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in collaboration with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and a number of commercial partners.
On show until Oct 31, it is the fifth in URA's Urban Lab exhibition series, which started in 2015.
Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry, who launched the exhibition, said the world needs to produce an increasing amount of food in an increasingly challenging environment affected by factors like urbanisation and climate change. On top of that, Singapore is faced with challenges like land scarcity and high labour costs.
"If our farmers can continue to take bold steps to innovate and push the envelope, Singapore will not only be able to strengthen our own food security, but also contribute to global food security by exporting food and farming technologies to help with other countries' food security needs," he added.
URA's acting group director of research and development Chiu Wen Tung said the new breed of farms would not only boost production but also create new jobs attractive to young people, as they would no longer require manual labour but involve working with control systems not much different from those in a high-tech production facility.
Among the other displays are a local "high-rise" seafood farming project by Apollo Aquaculture Group that produces six times more than a traditional fish farm, and a prototype building under construction in Sweden to grow vegetables in offices whereby people provide carbon dioxide for the plants, which in turn produce oxygen.
Another featured farm is Sustenir Agriculture, located in a Sembawang industrial building. It features many levels of vegetable-growing spaces, with precisely controlled lighting and other conditions that can grow vegetables in half the time of traditional farming, and with 95 per cent less water.
Its kale-growing room smacks of science fiction, with a lurid purple pink glow from the combination of red and blue LED lights optimal for the growth of that crop.
Not too long ago, Sustenir chief executive Benjamin Swan, 36, could not be further from being a farmer. He was an engineer and project manager involved in the development of Marina Bay Sands, and spent a few years helping two major banks in Singapore revamp their banking systems.
But one evening in 2012, he was on the MRT when he read an article posted on Facebook about vertical farming, and it set off a "light bulb".
Mr Swan, an Australian applying for permanent residency here, designed his new farm on the computer that very night, in 3D.
He teamed up with his friend Martin Lavoo, who let his home's basement be used as a research lab.
"Not having an agricultural background allowed us to think out of the box and discover new frontiers," said Mr Swan.
