China's vessel Haixun 01 visits Sydney

China's largest patrol and rescue ship Haixun 01 set out for its first visit to Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia and arrived at Sydney's Garden Island port on Saturday morning.

Scheduled to depart from Shanghai on June 13, Haixun 01 is expected to join the Asia-Pacific Heads of Maritime Safety Agencies Forum in Australia's Cairns on July 2.

It will visit Indonesia's Jakarta port before stopping at Myanmar and Malaysia.

"It's our first time to send a maritime patrol boat to visit several countries, and it's also our longest trip in terms of navigation mileage," said Zhai Jiugang, deputy director of the maritime safety administration, commenting on the 60-some day, 13,909 nautical mile trip.

It's also the first time China sent a patrol and rescue ship to visit the southern hemisphere.

Chief of Australian Maritime Safety Authority Graham Peachey welcomed the vessel's arrival by saying that the visit showed the close collaboration between Australia and China on maritime safety, according to Xinhua.

During the weeklong visit in Sydney, AMSA personnel will meet with their Chinese counterparts and undertake a tabletop search and rescue exercise scheduled for Wednesday, said Peachey.

A series of maritime cooperation exercises, including the maritime search and rescue exercises, maritime safety management and disaster relief, will be carried out between Haixun 01 and marine authorities of the four mentioned countries, according to Xu Guoyi, head of the Shanghai Maritime Bureau and also the captain.

Issues such as water traffic safety, anti-terrorism and anti-pollution will also be discussed.

"The trip provides an opportunity to learn from each other and to jointly improve our capability of maritime management and service," he said, adding it strengthens the ties and exchanges between countries' development of shipping and trade.

The 128.6-meter-long, 5,418-ton vessel, which has a maximum sailing distance of 18,520 km without refueling, only officially joined the Shanghai maritime authority in the middle of April and it's this brand-new vessel's first trip abroad. Haixun 01 is also equipped with a helipad to allow airborne searches and rescue missions.

"The vessel, which can also be regarded as a helicopter carrier, makes it possible to expand the cruising range for search and rescue," Zhai said. Haixun 01 is expected to return to Shanghai by Aug 9.