The college participated in several national ocean science projects, including the development of Jiaolong submersible.

[1][2] The colleges offers courses in marine biology, oceanography, underwater technology and offshore engineering.

[3] Founded as the Department of Marine Science and Engineering in 2009 in a collaboration with the Municipal Government of Zhoushan,[4] Ocean College was launched in an agreement with the local government on 10 June 2012 to serve national ocean strategies including Zhoushan Archipelago New Area.

The college was formally established in 2013 and was moved into its Zhoushan campus in September 2015.

Most of ocean science-related books at ZJU have been stored at this library since its foundation in September 2015.