Tan Kah Kee had lived many years in Singapore, and was impressed by the maritime might of the British colonial rulers. He specially ordered equipment from Europe to build two fishing vessels, Jimei No. 1 and Jimei No. 2, to give students practical training.
久居新加坡的陳嘉庚，看到英國殖民政府海權興盛，特別向歐、美訂購機具，建成集美一號和二號兩艘漁船，供學生實習。