The Second China Industrial Design Exhibition is held in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province from Nov 23 to 25, attracting a total 554 engineering companies. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Blue Whale 1, the ultra-deep-water semisubmersible drilling rig, stood out from 2,528 entries to become one of the 10 winners of the "2018 China excellent industrial design award" at China's industrial design exhibition on Nov 23.

The Second China Industrial Design Exhibition was held in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province from Nov 23 to 25 attracting a total 554 engineering companies.

Other entries for the "2018 China excellent industrial design award " included the C919 large passenger aircraft developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).

Blue Whale 1 built by China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore commences ocean operations on July 29, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Blue Whale 1 was built by China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore, the nation's largest semisubmersible platform manufacturer.

The company has developed the world's most advanced semi-submersible drilling platform through innovation research, design and development.

Having launched in 2017, the 122.5 meters long and 92.7 meters wide Blue Whale 1 can operate as deep as 3,658 meters under the sea and drill as deep as 15,240 meters, making it the deepest rig in the world.

It also was the first in China to extract combustible ice in the South China Sea and able to withstand a class 12 offshore typhoon on the sea.

Over the years, Yantai has ramped up efforts to build the largest marine equipment R&D center in northern China and make the marine engineering industry a new engine for Yantai's economic growth.

In July, 2013, CIMC Marine Engineering Research Institute was put into operation, playing an important role in promoting the development of China's marine industrial clusters.

Additionally, some companies such as CIMC Raffles Offshore and Jereh Group have also contributed to the rapid development of the city's marine industries and helped to promote more international cooperation.

A production base of CIMC Raffles, a maritime engineering equipment supplier in Shandong's high-end maritime manufacturing industry. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]