China plans deep-sea tourism submersible

China has conducted manned expeditions to the deepest point on Earth — the bottom of the Mariana Trench — for scientific purposes, and has been a global leader in deep-sea exploration missions for several years.

Now, Chinese engineers are working to achieve another ambitious goal: giving ordinary people access to a short trip to the depths of the ocean, according to a senior researcher.

Ye Cong, director of the China Ship Scientific Research Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, told China Daily in an exclusive interview that engineers at the center have developed the country's first deep-sea tourism submersible and plan to build a prototype before the end of this year.

"After more than four years of research, engineers have finalized the structural design," he said, adding that once the prototype is ready, "they will carry out sea trials and then improve upon the design based on the results".

If everything goes according to plan, the deep-sea tourism submersible will be ready for launch and commercial operation before 2030, Ye said.

"People will be able to travel to a depth of about 1,000 meters in the submersible," he said, highlighting that the deep-sea vessel will have the capacity to carry four people, including three passengers.

Ye made the announcement on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which concluded in Beijing on Wednesday. He is a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, China's top political advisory body, and a veteran submersible operator who has taken part in dozens of deep-sea dive missions.

China currently has dozens of tourism submersibles in operation, but these can only dive to around 20 meters. Therefore, their operations are restricted to reservoirs, lakes and coastal waters.

According to Ye, engineers have already designed and developed key components to be used on the proposed tourism vessel, including its panoramic viewport, which is one of the most difficult structural codes to crack in a deep-sea submersible.

He said that many local tourism departments and travel agencies have expressed their interest in the deep-sea vessel, and are in touch for future cooperation with the research center, which is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp.

"The model will be a valuable asset for cruise lines, high-end tourism operators and oceanographic researchers. It will offer discerning travelers an unforgettable experience in ocean exploration," Ye said.

This is not the first time that the research center has engaged in dive tourism. Several years ago, the center built two tourist submersibles — the Huandao Jiaolong 1 and Huandao Jiaolong 2 — for use in Sanya, a popular coastal resort city in South China's Hainan province.

Each submersible was piloted by two operators and could carry seven passengers to a depth of 40 meters for an underwater journey that lasted about eight hours. However, the operations were suspended due to regulatory restrictions.

For deep-sea scientific expeditions, China has three manned submersibles — the Jiaolong, or Sea Dragon, the Shenhai Yongshi, or Deep-Sea Warrior, and the Fendouzhe, or Striver.

Last year, these vessels conducted more than 300 dives around the world, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world's total crewed deep-sea expeditions, Ye said, adding that the submersibles are expected to carry out more underwater missions in the coming years.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn