Chinese research vessel upgraded for maritime missions

Major upgrades to China's comprehensive marine scientific research and training vessel, the Dong Fang Hong 2, were revealed upon completion on Wednesday, with optimizations enhancing the ship's readiness for future maritime operations and scientific experiments.

The recent upgrade focused on improving the vessel's control and power systems, scientific research functions, workspace layout, and overall navigation performance.

Some of the most significant changes have been made on the vessel's bridge to help meet the rigorous navigational needs of researchers.

"The bridge now is very open, providing the crew a better view for navigation and scientific experiments. The key point is that we added a dynamic positioning system to this ship, allowing it to remain stationary at sea for extended periods, facilitating our scientific research experiments. Secondly, it features trajectory planning, enabling fully automated operation from point A to point B, reducing the operational burden on the crew at sea," said Tong Yao, project manager of the Dong Fang Hong 2.

Substantial upgrades were also made to the ship's laboratory. Previously a series of small, separate rooms, the now-larger lab space is capable of accommodating a wider range of complex experimental equipment.

"After the optimization, the laboratory can accommodate a wider variety of experimental equipment, and the types of experiments that can be conducted on a single voyage are more diverse. The layout has undergone a significant adjustment," said Tong.

He added that the lab is now located directly next to the vessel's stern deck so that researchers can begin testing samples from the water as soon as they are retrieved.

The stern also holds one of the most visible upgrades when viewing the ship from the outside.

"We equipped the vessel with a large crane. Its load-bearing capacity has been improved to accommodate the needs of larger scientific research equipment during expeditions. Secondly, its boom has been changed to a folding type, which can effectively lower the ship's center of gravity and make navigation more stable. Our operating water depth has increased from 6,000 meters to 10,000 meters, and the equipment can support our operations in all sea areas more effectively," Tong said.

In service for 27 years, the Dong Fang Hong 2 has sailed over 600,000 nautical miles and completed 160 major scientific expeditions.