China's Polar Icebreaker Embarks on First Arctic Mission
China's first domestically built polar icebreaker Xue Long 2 has set sail on its first mission to the Arctic, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reports.Xuez Long 2 (Snow Dragon 2) departed Shanghai Wednesday with a team of Chinese scientists on board to conduct investigations in areas including the Chukchi Rise, Canada Basin and the central Arctic Ocean, Xinhua reports. The voyage is expected to cover some 12,000 nautical miles and conclude in late September.The expedition is said to be organized by China's Ministry of Natural Resources to study biodiversity and ecosystems, ocean
CNOOC Developing New Deep Sea Gas Block in South China Sea
China's offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC has started developing a new gas field in the South China Sea, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.The Lingshui 17-2 gas field is the first deep sea gas block fully operated by a Chinese company, Xinhua said citing CNOOC officials.The deep sea project, which was discovered in 2014, is 150 km (94 miles) south of China's southern Hainan island, with an average operational depth of 1,500 metres, according to a Reuters report from that year.CNOOC is ready to start building a subsea level platform used for drilling, Xinhua said.(Reporting
China's Giant Floating Solar Plant Goes Live
China's Three Gorges Group started producing power from a 150-megawatt floating solar plant in east China, the largest of its kind in the world, official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The solar power project in Huainan in Anhui province, developed by the new energy unit of state-run Three Gorges Group, is expected to be in full operation in May next year, the report said. The one-billion-yuan Huainan project is a new experiment aimed at cutting the cost of constructing and operating solar power plants, Lu Chun, chairman of Three Gorges Group was cited as saying. (Reportin
China's 'Smart' Ship Debuts in Shanghai
China's first "smart" ship embedded with a domestically-developed intelligent navigation system made its debut in Shanghai, according to official media Xinhua. China Daily also reported that the world's first smart ship, developed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), has started its first trial voyage in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Christened as 'Great Intelligence' (Great Smart) 179-meter-long ship is 32-meters-wide and 15-meters-high, with a maximum loading capacity of 38,800 tonnes. The report said that
China Says Important Glacier is Melting Due to Climate Change
is fast retreating because of climate change, state media said. The Jianggudiru Glacier on Geladaindong Mountain in a remote part of the western province of Qinghai has shrunk 34 metres (38 yards) over the past six years, Pu Jianchen, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Xinhua news agency. The glacier started to shrink slowly in the 1970s, then expanded between 1989 and 1994 before retreating more quickly from 1995, Pu said, Xinhua reported late on Tuesday. Yang Xin, president of the Green River Environmental Protection Association, told Xinhua the glacier
Chinese Submarine Dives into Indian Ocean
. A Chinese submersible vessel has been conducting its first deep dive in the Indian Ocean in search of rare metals. It will collect samples of hydrothermal fluid and sulfide, which is a kind of seabed deposit that contains copper, zinc and many precious metals such as gold and silver, official Xinhua news agency said. The project, which involves exploring the Indian Ocean for 120 days, reflects China's hunger for resources, sources say. The vessel will also obtain samples of rocks, sediment and water from selected spots in the India Ocean. The project enables researchers
Chinese Ship Searching for Malaysia Plane Detects Signal
A Chinese patrol ship searching for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 detected a pulse signal with a frequency of 37.5 kHz per second in the south Indian Ocean on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported. 37.5 kHz per second is currently the international standard frequency for the underwater locator beacon on a plane's "black box". A black box detector deployed by the vessel Haixun 01 picked up the signal at around 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, Xinhua said. It has yet to be established whether it is related to the missing jet. Xinhua also said a
China Set to Expand Antarctic Research, Build New Icebreaker
China is preparing for a new period of polar exploration with its first fixed-wing aircraft and plans to build a new icebreaker for Antarctic research, report Xinhua according to information from Chinese oceanic authorities. China plans a new icebreaker and a feasibility study on the new vessel has been submitted for approval. The current icebreaker, Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, continued its research in Antarctic after being trapped by heavy floes from December last year until Jan. 7, 2014. China is looking into establishing a fourth research base in Antarctica to expand the range of research
China to Step Up Ocean Research as Russia Cuts Arctic Budget
China will step up the building of research vessels including polar icebreakers, mother ships for manned submersibles and comprehensive research vessels reports Xinhua, while Russia's Ministry of Finance has refused to pay for Arctic research according to news on the official website Arctic-Info. Jiaolong, China's first manned deep-sea submersible, is scheduled for oceanic research in the southwest Indian Ocean and the northwest Pacific Ocean in 2014, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) informed Xinhua at a national maritime work conference. Xinhua cites Liu Cigui, head of the SOA, as saying
February 2024
