China officially commissioned its first comprehensive scientific research ship designed for global deep-sea exploration, the Tan Suo San Hao (Explorer 3), marking a milestone in the nation's maritime endeavors.
The Tan Suo San Hao measures approximately 104 meters in length with a displacement of around 10,000 tons. It is equipped with bidirectional ice-breaking mechanisms at both the bow and stern, enabling navigation through icy waters in polar regions, an innovation that positions China as only the second country after Russia able to send researchers to the deep polar seabeds for scientific exploration, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
The crew of the Tan Suo San Hao includes 80 members, and the ship boasts a range of 15,000 nautical miles. It is equipped with unmanned submersibles for deep-sea scientific activities. It will expand China’s manned deep-sea capabilities from just deep-sea depths to all marine areas, effectively enhancing China’s capacity for deep-sea archaeological work," state media outlet Xinhua noted.
After the project's approval in December 2022, more than 100 institutions collaborated in developing and building the vessel, overcoming monopolistic challenges in design, precise dynamic positioning under icy conditions, and intelligent ship control technologies.
The Tan Suo San Hao is equipped with a comprehensive suite of polar operation scientific research control equipment, including China's largest domestically developed watertight scientific research moon pool system. It also features deep-sea acoustic detection equipment for ice areas and utilizes domestically developed technologies in its dynamic positioning system, as reported by the Global Times.
China has accounted for more than half of global manned deep dives in the past three years. The vessel will conduct crewed deep-sea operations in polar areas and is scheduled to carry the Deep Sea Warrior manned submersible in the first half of next year, according to Passionate Geekz.
In recent years, Chinese scientists achieved multiple world records related to manned deep-sea missions and discoveries. In 2020, nearly 1,000 researchers from around 100 research institutes, universities, and enterprises collaborated on the construction of the deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver), which successfully dived to a depth of 10,909 meters in the Mariana Trench, as noted by the Global Times.
Sources: Xinhua (French), South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera (Arabic), passionategeekz.com, Global Times, News China, Wow TV, China Daily
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.