Deep sea exploration vessel docked in Nansha

China's first multi-functional scientific research and archaeological vessel for deep sea exploration and cultural relics docked in Guangzhou's Nansha district on Saturday. 

The vessel that is built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp and a Shanghai Stock Exchange-list company, is the first comprehensive scientific research vessel independently designed by Chinese engineers with the ability to support manned deep diving in ice zones, possessing completely independent intellectual property rights, according to a statement released by GSI on Saturday.

"It has broken through the monopoly bottleneck of key technologies such as overall design technology, intelligent control technology, low-temperature precise compensation technology, integrated design of ice zone loads and heavy load structures," it said.

Construction of the vessel which started on June 23, last year cost more than 800 million yuan ($112.68 million), said the statement.

The construction content includes a ship system, a manned deep diving surface support system and a comprehensive scientific research operation system, it said.

The vessel reaches about 104 meters long and has a displacement of about 10,000 metric tons. It is designed to hit a maximum speed of 16 knots, equivalent to about 30 kilometers an hour.

Meanwhile, the vessel can break ice in both directions at the bow and stern also has a range of 15,000 nautical miles and can accommodate 80 crew members.

The vessel is expected to be delivered for use at the beginning of 2025, and the vessel's owners include Hainan provincial government, Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya and The Institute of Deep-Sea Science Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science, it said.