China's ocean watchdog vowed to ban offshore projects that cause marine pollution in order to protect the country's fragile marine environment, an official said on Thursday.

"With increasing stretches of the country's coastal waters severely polluted, urgent measures are required to control offshore activities, especially offshore projects," Xu Guodong, deputy director of the environmental protection department of the State Oceanic Administration, told China Daily on Thursday.

He said developers of offshore projects must hand in a marine environment influence report, which must illustrate effective measures to purify pollutants before discharging them into the sea.