China starts building third icebreaker, which scientists say could send researchers to polar seabeds by 2025

The ship could help China become second country, after Russia, to take people to Arctic sea floor in deep-sea submersibles
It will spend part of the year at North and South Poles and also support research in waters including the South China Sea, engineer says

Science

Echo Xie

Published: 5:00pm, 27 Jun 2023

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China began construction on its third icebreaker on Sunday, which scientists said could send researchers to deep polar seabeds for scientific exploration as early as 2025.

Once completed, the vessel could help China become the second country to send scientists to the Arctic sea floor using deep-sea crewed submersibles. Only the Russian submersibles Mir 1 and Mir 2 have reached the seabed of the North Pole.

China currently has two icebreakers, Xuelong 1 and Xuelong 2. Their most important mission is to replenish supplies for the nation’s seven stations at the North and South Poles. The icebreakers also support research on ice caps, atmospheric composition and the marine environment in polar areas.

The new icebreaker will focus on crewed and uncrewed deep-sea scientific research, according to Tang Gulashan, director of the Marine Equipment and Operations Management Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering.

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The vessel’s construction is funded by several organisations, including the Hainan provincial government and the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering.

“Apart from Russia, no other country has sent people down to the polar sea floor in submersibles,” Tang said on Monday, adding that the polar regions have great research value.

“The vessel is expected to be delivered in 2025 and we aim to conduct crewed deep diving in polar areas that year.”

Tang said the vessel would spend four months each year in polar regions and conduct scientific research in the South China Sea and other deep-sea waters during the rest of the year.

The vessel has a designed length of about 103 metres (338 feet) and a displacement of about 9,200 tonnes (10,141 tons). It can accommodate 80 people and travel at a speed of up to 16 knots, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Its main functions include unrestricted navigation, crewed deep diving, deep-sea exploration and support for operations.

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The vessel is expected to provide samples and environmental data for research on the deep-sea environment, geology and life sciences, as well as support testing and use of deep-sea technology and equipment, according to CCTV.

He Guangwei, deputy chief engineer with Guangzhou Shipyard International Company, the vessel’s manufacturer, said it could help investigate atmospheric changes, sea life and geology.

“It fills the gap and enables China to carry out manned deep-diving scientific research activities in polar regions,” He was quoted as saying by CCTV.

The vessel can also support deep-sea archaeological exploration.

In 2022, the Chinese submersible Deep Sea Warrior discovered more than 100,000 items, mostly porcelain dating back around 500 years, from two ancient shipwrecks on the seabed of the South China Sea.

On June 11, the research ship Tansuo 1 returned to the city of Sanya in China’s southern island province of Hainan carrying more than 200 cultural relics from the shipwrecks located 1,500 metres under the ocean surface.