China conducts ongoing manned deep dives in the Arctic

The scientific expedition team responsible for the Arctic manned deep-diving mission, jointly organized and implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, returned on October 27.​

China's independently designed and built "Tan Suo San Hao" (Exploration No. 3), the world's first manned deep-diving mother ship with ice-breaking capabilities, carried the "Fendouzhe" (Striver) manned submersible and completed 43 diving operations in the Arctic. Notably, the "Fendouzhe" and the "Jiaolong" manned submersibles conducted joint underwater operations, pioneering a new model of dual-manned submersible collaboration in China.

The Arctic manned deep-diving scientific expedition team departed from Sanya on July 22 this year. It collaborated with the "Jiaolong" manned deep-diving team to conduct the deep-diving mission in the Arctic Ocean. During the expedition, the team spent 56 days in the Arctic Ocean, performing a series of scientific investigations and tests. The "Fendouzhe" carried out 43 diving operations. Meanwhile, the "Jiaolong" manned deep-diving team achieved China's first dive in the Arctic ice area and conducted underwater collaborative operations with the "Fendouzhe." In the central basin, where sea ice coverage exceeds 80%, the expedition performed the world's first manned deep-diving scientific investigation of the Gakkel Mid-Ocean Ridge, reaching a maximum depth of 5,277 meters.

This voyage has established a new mobile ice-diving model of "ship-submersible collaboration" in dense ice regions, making China the only country currently capable of conducting continuous manned deep dives in the Arctic's dense sea ice. The expedition team has collected valuable water, sediment, rock, and biological samples, and gathered extensive observation data. These achievements will provide crucial scientific support for in-depth research on rapid Arctic climate changes and related fields.