China commissions independently developed deep-sea research vessel 'Tansuo-3'

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China's domestically developed deep-sea multi-functional scientific exploration and cultural relics archaeological ship, Tansuo-3 (Exploration-3), was commissioned in Sanya City of south China's tropical island province of Hainan on Sunday, getting ready to undertake missions in 2025.

The vessel's commissioning marks a significant expansion of China's manned submersible capabilities, enabling Chinese scientific expedition teams to explore all sea areas.

According to schedule, the vessel will carry a full-ocean-depth Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) known as Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) for regular scientific research operations, deep-sea equipment trials and deep-sea archaeology in the South China Sea in the first half of 2025.

In the second half of next year, it will begin manned deep-sea submersible operations in abyssal oceans.

The Tansuo-3 is China's first comprehensive scientific research ship capable of conducting global deep-sea exploration, including in polar regions, and can support manned deep diving in ice areas.

Measuring 104 meters long and with a displacement of about 10,000 tonnes, the Tansuo-3 was independently designed, developed and built by China. it can sail at a maximum speed of 16 knots (around 30 kilometers per hour), and sail as far as 15,000 nautical miles (around 27,780 kilometers) on a single voyage. It can accommodate 80 crew members and break ice with both its forward and aft.

The vessel has a large moon pool of 6 meters by 4.8 meters, an opening at the base of the hull, to ensure scientific exploration operations on floating ice and under challenging maritime conditions.

The vessel's commissioning marks an important breakthrough in China's autonomy in the development of key core technologies, featuring not only domestically developed equipment but also independently developed key control systems.