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