Chinese research vessel Kexue, or Science, completed a nearly 20-day dock repair and returned to its home port in the eastern city of Qingdao on Saturday.

The dock repair is a special "health examination" for the vessel after 10 years of operation, which involves a thorough and detailed inspection of the hull, engine, and electrical and detection equipment.

Over 100 measures were completed to improve the vessel's ability to provide technical support for safe navigation and scientific expedition, including cleaning of the fresh water tank and ballast tank, maintenance of painting, and inspection of underwater detection equipment.

Since it was put into operation in 2012, the vessel has carried out nearly 50 ocean survey voyages with a total of more than 2,000 days of safe sailing.

Known as the "mobile lab on the ocean," the vessel has provided voyages to more than 1,500 people from dozens of universities and research institutes across the country, and achieved fruitful scientific research results.