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China-Malta Vessel: Bluefin's Cold Chain Hero
27 Oct
Summary
- A joint venture vessel is processing bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean.
- The Ocean Star is an ultra-low-temperature floating cold-chain hub.
- This platform efficiently links Maltese harvesting with Chinese processing capacity.
The Ocean Star, an ultra-low-temperature processing and transportation vessel, has begun its new production season in the Mediterranean Sea, east of Malta. This vessel is owned by Mediterranean Bluefin Industry Development (Hainan), a joint venture established in June 2024 by Malta Fish Farming Ltd and China's Shandong Far-sea Development Ltd.
The joint venture focuses on the trade, transportation, and processing of bluefin tuna. The Ocean Star serves as a critical floating cold-chain hub, addressing the challenge of maintaining the delicate quality of bluefin tuna, particularly its fatty otoro, which requires immediate and uninterrupted low-temperature handling.
Malta Fish Farming Chairman Salvu Ellul highlighted the Ocean Star as the first of its kind in ultra-low-temperature refrigerated transport and processing, calling it the Mediterranean's most efficient bluefin tuna processing platform. He met with China's Ambassador to Malta, Zhang Zuo, on October 11, emphasizing the growing bilateral cooperation in fisheries and its potential as a bridge for economic exchange under the Belt and Road Initiative.
