The newspaper quoted Hu Xuedong, deputy head of the Chinese State Oceanic Administration's Deep Sea Department, who oversees China's ocean exploration programs, as saying that the vessels will include the country's first marine resources survey ship and its first mother ship for manned submersibles.
According to him, the construction is scheduled to begin before the end of June 2017.
"The two ships will have world-class technological and operational capacity. They will be able to travel at least 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 km) in each journey," he said.
Hu added that the news ships' service "will extensively improve our capabilities in ocean surveying, deep-sea science and marine environmental protection."
Jiaolong submersible returns home in Qingdao with findings from W. Pacific after a 100-day scientific expedition pic.twitter.com/mOLexT5I6B
— China Pictorial (@CHINA_PICTORIAL) 19 июля 2016 г.
Both the marine resources survey ship and the mother ship, which will serve China's manned submersible Jiaolong, will have a displacement of 4,000 metric tons, according to the State Oceanic Administration.
China's Jiaolong submersible embarks on a scientific expedition in the Pacific Ocean http://t.co/qQuSuUl3Ky pic.twitter.com/vSIBCj1T2n
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) 4 июля 2014 г.
As for the 98-meter-long marine resources survey ship, it will be tasked with conducting long-term surveys in a wide array of sectors, including marine geology, marine ecology and ocean-atmosphere systems.
China's Jiaolong submersible to explore Indian Ocean http://t.co/BK9MOkFvJR pic.twitter.com/rVSoU57cfH
— Asian Warrior (@TheTomar) 19 января 2014 г.
Right now, China has 17 oceanographic research vessels and 15 hydrographic ships for coastal water surveys, the China Daily reported.
As far as Jiaolong is concerned, it is a Chinese manned deep-sea research submersible that can dive to a depth of more than 7,000 meters.
#China's Jiaolong submersible finishes 9th dive this year http://t.co/IkOd3ydU18 pic.twitter.com/fJImDLfj6x
— Xinhua World News (@XinhuaWorld) 30 июля 2014 г.
For now it is believed to have the greatest depth range of any manned research vehicle in the world.
In June 2012, Jialong reached its deepest depth of 7,062 meters when diving in the Mariana Trench.
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