China delivers independently-developed deep-sea scientific research, archaeological vessel

GUANGZHOU -- A Chinese shipbuilding firm on Thursday delivered the country's first comprehensive scientific research ship designed for global deep-sea exploration, including summer operations in the polar regions, with manned deep-diving capabilities in ice areas.

The Guangzhou Shipyard International Co., Ltd. of China State Shipping Corporation delivered the multi-purpose deep-sea scientific exploration and archaeological vessel, Tan Suo San Hao, or Exploration No 3, in Nansha in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province.

The 104-meter-long self-developed and built vessel has a displacement of around 10,000 tonnes, an endurance of 15,000 nautical miles and a crew capacity of 80. It is equipped with two-direction ice-breaking capabilities at both the bow and stern.

The vessel will enable China's manned deep-diving capability to reach the full ocean area around the globe, effectively enhancing China's deep-sea archaeological operation capability.

The ship project was jointly funded by the Hainan provincial government, a company in Sanya in Hainan province, and the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Following the project's approval in December 2022, more than 100 institutions collaborated on the development and construction of the ship, overcoming technological bottlenecks in key areas such as ice-zone ship design and intelligent ship control technology.