A Chinese company is to build a fleet of floating nuclear plants costing £318 million each in the politically-contested South China Sea, amid concerns over risks to both the surrounding environment and national security.

The vessels, the first of which is currently being assembled in Huludao, Liaoning, north-east China, could provide energy to the man-made islands in the area, according to People's Daily Online.

The decision has prompted worries that, with a fleet of nuclear power plants, China could more easily command authority over the sizable region that is also claimed by south-east Asian nations including Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Costly: A nuclear vessel crosses the waves, designed by China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN)

Ambitious project: The first of the powerful vessels is being assembled in Huludao, Liaoning, north east China

Risky: They are expected to provide clean power to the controversial 'fake' islands made by China in the area

The announcement was made last week during an expert review by industry specialists from Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC).

The CSIC 719 Research Institute, established two years ago to develop maritime nuclear platforms, said the new fleet will have a range of civilian and industrial uses - from powering rescue equipment to aiding seawater purification.

However it is thought the ships' main purpose will be to provide power to the controversial artificial islands in the disputed region, particularly those recently built in the Spratly archipelago, called the Nansha islands by the Chinese.

The islands thought to be served include the Fiery Cross Reef - called Yongshu Reef in China - and the smaller Subi (or Zhubi) reef to the south of the region.

The construction of these first trial maritime nuclear platforms is expected to be completed by 2018 and be put into use by 2019, and will cost upwards of 3 billion yuan (£318 million) to finish.

Zhu Hanchao, deputy chief engineer at CSIC 719, meanwhile predicted to People's Daily that the project would generate profits of up to 22.6 billion yuan (£2.4 billion) over a 40 year life span.

The Spratley and Paracel islands are contested by China, the Phillipines and other south-east Asian nations

Who owns what? The region enclosed by the 'nine-dash line' has been claimed by China for centuries

The current market share for the maritime nuclear power platforms is estimated at over 100 billion yuan ($15.45 billion) for aiding in fuelling offshore oil exploration.

At the same time environmental analysts have expressed their concerns over the narrow possibility of a nuclear meltdown if there are errors in regulation, especially given that there are often typhoons and other extreme weather events in the surrounding region.

According to an article on Times of India, David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer and the director of the Nuclear Safety Project said: 'The floating accident scenario carries with it the potential for molten parts of the reactor core burning through the bottom of the barge to reach the sea water below, which would be catastrophic.'

The sovereignty of the South China Sea region has been heavily disputed over decades, focussing on whether China can claim ownership of the Spratley and Paracel outcrops which may contain important reserves of natural resources.

China says it owns an area defined by a 'nine-dash line' which stretches over hundreds of miles of water, and claims their right dates back centuries.

At the same time environmental analysts have expressed concerns over the possibility of a nuclear meltdown

Tensions have escalated over the past year with news of China's covert construction of the artificial islands

A case brought by the Philippines to the United Nations challenging China's nine-dash line claim on the South China Sea is due for a ruling over the next couple of months.

Tensions have escalated over the past year with news of China's covert construction of the artificial islands and landing of civilian aircraft on the reefs, which prompted international concern in January.

The concept of embedding nuclear capabilities into a sea-bound vessel is not a particularly novel one and Russia are expecting to complete their own floating reactor by next year.

Currently, the United States Nuclear Navy have over a hundred nuclear-powered boats.