China's new-generation icebreaking research vessel, named Jidi (polar region), made its debut in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on Friday.

The research vessel, coated in red and white, is 89 meters long and 17.8 meters wide, equivalent to three standard basketball courts connected end to end.

Domestically designed and manufactured, the ship is able to sail in unlimited navigation areas in international waters, with a capacity of 60 crew members and a displacement of 5,600 tonnes.

It can sail for a range of 26,000 kilometers with supplies that can sustain the whole ship for more than 80 days at sea.

The most prominent feature of the vessel is that it can carry drones, unmanned ships, underwater autonomous robots and other equipment.

Relying on China's independent satellite network system, it has formed an integrated research capability covering the air, space, sea, ice and submersible areas, and is able to simultaneously complete multi-disciplinary comprehensive scientific expedition tasks including the atmosphere, sea ice, water bodies and geophysics.

The vessel is expected to conduct scientific research missions in the second half of 2024 after testing.