China's ocean research drilling vessel takes shape

Deep-sea exploration to serve nation's efforts to 'conserve, develop' oceans

China is building a new science ship that will be capable of collecting samples from 10,000 meters below the sea surface.

The ocean-drilling research vessel, which has yet to be named, is under construction at Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. It was designed by the Shanghai-headquartered Marine Design and Research Institute of China.

Both the shipyard and the institute are part of China State Shipbuilding Corp, a State-owned conglomerate and the world's largest shipbuilder.

In a major step in its construction, the ship's hull was assembled at Huangpu Wenchong on Sunday.

It will be moved into the water in coming days and then moved to a dry dock where engineers will mount deck structures, internal equipment and scientific apparatus, designers said on Monday.

Upon its completion, the vessel will weigh about 42,000 metric tons and be able to carry nearly 200 sailors and researchers to work up to four months on a single voyage. It will be able to operate in any ocean except the polar regions, and will be able to drill as far as 10,000 meters beneath the sea into tectonic plates, according to designers.

The ship's user, the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources, said in a news release on Sunday that the ship's construction began in November 2021 and is scheduled to finish in 2024.

It is expected to strengthen China's deep-sea research capability and will serve the nation's efforts to better conserve and develop oceans, it said.

The craft will be capable of drilling deeper beneath the ocean than any other in the country.

The agency said the ship will virtually be a floating laboratory containing 10 types of cutting-edge scientific devices. There will be world-class paleomagnetics and ultraclean labs aboard the ship, it noted.

In addition to its scientific missions, the ship can also be used to probe gas and oil beneath the seafloor, the release said.

Also on Sunday, China's largest port for research ships was put to use in Guangzhou.

The port, located on the northeast of Longxue Island off Guangzhou, has five berths for research vessels.

China has invested heavily in the field of deep-sea exploration in recent years and has achieved considerable feats in this sphere.

In November 2020, the country's manned submersible Fendouzhe, or Striver, set a national diving record of 10,909 meters in the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point of Earth's oceans.

China is now one of the few countries that can carry out manned expeditions at any ocean depth.