Deep-sea research ship to sail soon

China will soon commission an advanced, multifunctional research ship that recently concluded its first sea trial.

The Tansuo 3, or Exploration 3, was jointly designed by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, China State Shipbuilding Corp's Guangzhou Shipyard International and other research entities. Its construction started in June 2023 at the shipyard, and the main body was completed in April.

The vessel underwent an eight-day trial voyage in late October and then returned to the shipyard for a final equipment installation and some fine-tuning. There are plans for the ship to undergo more sea trials, according to He Guangwei, deputy chief engineer of Guangzhou Shipyard International and the vessel's chief designer.

"During the trial operation, engineers tested the ship's capabilities and performance, including its speed, maneuverability, operational noise and information capacity, and the results were satisfactory. It is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2025," he said on Friday.

Measuring 104 meters long and with a displacement of about 10,000 metric tons, the Tansuo 3 has a maximum speed of 16 knots, or 29.6 kilometers per hour, and can sail as far as about 27,800 km in a single voyage. It is operated by 80 sailors and scientific instrument operators.

According to the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering in Sanya, Hainan province, the Tansuo 3 is equipped with world-class scientific equipment such as advanced deep-sea sonar and release systems for crewed and robotic submersibles, and is able to conduct comprehensive surveys of oceanic elements such as deep-sea water and seabed geographies.

The ship also has bidirectional ice-breaking capability that enables it to operate in polar regions in the summer.

It can conduct deep-sea investigations and cultural relic excavations from the seafloor, the institute said, noting that Chinese researchers have made several technological breakthroughs with the ship's development.

The new ship will greatly improve the country's deep-sea scientific exploration efforts, helping scientists better understand the deep-sea ecosystem, geological structures and distribution of marine resources, according to researchers.

China has invested heavily in its oceanic research capability and has built a considerable fleet of survey ships.

On Sunday, the nation's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling ship, named Mengxiang, or Dream, was delivered to the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

It will be used to drill through the Earth's crust and into the upper mantle to survey resources and collect samples.