HÀ NỘI — A machine that makes ice from sea water has been introduced into Việt Nam for the first time.

Invented by local scientists, the machine will help fishermen create crushed ice from the ocean water to make sure their catch stays fresh.

The machine is the product of the Centre for High Technology Development (CHTD) under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST).

This is the first product produced domestically, from research, manufacturing and testing on fishing boats.

The project was chaired by Lê Văn Luân, a scientist from the CHTD and conducted within 18 months from 2016 to 2017.

In April this year, the work was tested and ranked excellent by VAST Testing Council.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nguyễn Văn Thao, director of the CHTD, said offshore fishing was one of the important directions in the development of the fisheries sector in the country.

Although the fisheries productivity is high, the loss after exploitation is high. According to the Directorate of Fisheries, losses after fishing in Việt Nam account for 20-30 per cent of the productivity, mainly due to the fact that a majority of fishing boats are small in size and lack of preservation. Therefore, reducing post-harvest losses, despite difficulty, has been identified as a top priority for the sector.

One of the proposed solutions is the application of ice making technology, in which mastering technology of designing and manufacturing snow ice making machines will provide an important foundation for the application of snowmaking technology in seafood preservation in offshore fishing in the country, he said.

Lê Văn Luân, head of the research project, said the product has been tested for a long time at the workshop of Mechanics - Electronics of the CHTD and also tested at seaports and on fishing ships in Hải Phòng waters. The evaluation by scientists, testing units and fishing vessels’ owners show the product meets the requirements.

The ice machine incorporates a central controller with functions to protect and monitor system performance, to increase stability and extend the life of the device, including: overload protection, protection of high pressure, low pressure, detection of water level. Users can easily select and adjust the ice concentration of between 25-95 per cent, or at a certain temperature.

It also helps minimise the impact on the environment, efficiently exploiting resources, and bringing greater economic efficiency by increasing quality, prolonging storage time of fish on board due to lower storage temperature than ice made from fresh water, reducing the number of laborers freezing fish as the fish can be immediately stored in ice, Luân said.— VNS