China’s biggest research ship to head to South China Sea on maiden voyage

The ship named Sun Yat-sen University will be used for atmospheric and marine research projects, professor says

While Beijing insists the research will be used for public good, China’s maritime research activities are not always welcomed by its South China Sea neighbours

Reading Time:2 minutes

The Sun Yat-sen University research vessel is expected to make a maiden voyage to the South China Sea in October. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:00pm, 6 Jul 2021Updated: 1:50am, 7 Jul 2021

China’s newest and biggest research vessel is expected to make its maiden voyage to the South China Sea in October as part of Beijing’s efforts to boost exploration in the resource-rich waters.

The vessel was manufactured by Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard, builder of China’s second and third aircraft carriers and was handed over to researchers at Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University, after which it is named, in a ceremony in Shanghai last month.

Professor Yu Weidong, from the university’s school of atmospheric sciences, told the Yangcheng Evening News that the vessel would sail to the Paracel Islands in October to study “the steam of the western boundaries of the South China Sea as well as its neighbouring waters … that could provide scientific support for disaster prevention”.

The South China Sea is the main source of moisture for the rain that falls in southern China and every year super typhoons from the waters severely damage ecosystems in China.

Yu said the research would address areas such as the oceanic atmosphere, the seabed, marine biology and archaeology. The vessel has been dubbed “a mega mobile lab on the sea”, according to China Ship News. It is 114.3 metres long (374 feet long) and 19.4 metres wide, and weighs 6,880 tonnes (7,580 tons).

On board, 760 square metres (8,200 square feet) are reserved for fixed laboratories and over 610 square metres are allocated for more than 10 container-style mobile labs, allowing researchers to collect samples at sea and analyse them on board, before transferring the data to land.

A helicopter deck would be used to transfer people and equipment, and enable drones to extend the scientific observation range in the air, on the sea surface and the sea floor, the report said, adding that a phased array weather radar would be set up on the vessel next year.