With great fanfare the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) has launched the 'home-developed submarine pipeline Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) detector,' aiming to get a significant share of the lucrative pipeline inspection business in China and thus end foreign companies’ monopoly on the submarine pipeline inspection in China.

After over 20 years’ research and tests, CASIC successfully applied the high-precision magnetic flux leakage technology to detect the flaws and corrosion on the interior and exterior pipelines under the sea.

By using the self-developed MFL detector, state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) says it will reduce its submarine pipeline inspection cost by 30 to 50 percent and will save at least 80 million yuan (over $12 million) per year alone, a CNOOC official said. The concern over intelligence leakage, allegedly acquired through the deployment of German and American - made MFL rivals, will also be eased.