China's New Submersible Mother Ship Completes Maiden Voyage

China is capable of exploring depths of 10,000 meters below the surface of the ocean after the Tan Suo Yi Hao, the mother ship of a 4,500-meter manned submersible, returned to her home port of Sanya, Hainan province, on Friday.

The vessel had just completed her maiden voyage, conducting deep-sea scientific investigations in the Mariana Trench, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

Tan Suo Yi Hao, the mother ship of a 4,500-meter manned submersible, returns to her home port of Sanya, Hainan province, on Friday after completing her maiden voyage. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Tan Suo Yi Hao, which is 94.45 meters long and 17.9 meters wide, with a 12,000 horsepower main engine and a range of 10,000 nautical miles, is a modified marine-engineering vessel.

It is equipped with a number of laboratories, data processing and information centers, and other equipment. It serves as a base for the submersible, deep-sea expeditions and engineering.

The ship is the first of its kind in China, according to staff members at CAS' Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering. The ship, which is owned by the institute, had a crew of 60, including 39 researchers in different fields. It embarked on the voyage in June after undergoing 13 months of modifications.

During its 52-day mission, the vessel conducted 84 research projects in the Mariana Trench with the Chinese-developed Haidou ARV (autonomous and remotely operated vehicle), which is capable of diving to a depth of 11,000 meters, the Tianya and Haijiao deep-sea landers, an ocean floor seismometer and other appliances.

Liu Xincheng, the mission leader, said many valuable samples and data were collected at different depths during the voyage.

A report about the voyage will be published in Beijing after further study and analysis.

"It is the first time China has conducted explorations at 10,000 meters with domestically developed high-end deep-sea devices. It indicates that China has entered a new era in the field of marine science and technology," Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

At a ceremony held on Friday to celebrate the vessel's return to port, Wang Lu, Hainan's deputy governor, said the mission was a breakthrough that will further promote the development of China's deep-sea technology.

"It was a milestone for China in terms of deep-sea expeditions", Bai wrote in a congratulatory letter. (China Daily)