BEIJING (Sputnik) — Chinese vessel dubbed Dream was expected to be the third ocean-drilling vessel in the world following US JOIDES Resolution and Japan's Chikyu, China Daily newspaper reported, citing an official from Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology that initiated the project.
7 March 2016, 06:36 GMT
The newspaper added that the construction of the vessel is aimed at the development of China's deep-sea related technologies, including resource exploration, while the ultimate aim of the project was to drill into the Earth's mantle.
The construction of the vessel is one of the projects, that have been included into China's social and economic development plan for 2016-2020 to increase country's maritime power.
