A Chinese shipbuilder has begun work on an unmanned scientific ship that could be a “game changer” for the country’s marine research, according to a trade publication.
The vessel – said to be the first of its type – will carry drones and be equipped to conduct air, sea surface and underwater monitoring remotely, China Ship News reported on Tuesday.
It could be used for everything from disaster prevention and mitigation work to seabed mapping, environmental monitoring and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
“The ship will use sensors, satellite communication, the internet and other technological means to autonomously navigate in open water, and it will dock and leave the dock with assistance,” the report said. “It could be a game changer for marine survey work.”
China is the world’s biggest shipbuilder and has ambitions of becoming a global maritime power. As well as navy ships, it has also been investing heavily in research vessels in recent years, with the newest and biggest expected to make its maiden voyage to the South China Sea in October.
The vessel’s unmanned systems and drones will be able to form a network to observe designated targets. Photo: Handout
With a displacement of 2,100 tonnes the new research ship will be bigger than the Chinese navy’s Type 056 guided-missile corvette. It is being built in Guangzhou by the Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard, a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, which develops both research vessels and warships. Work began on Tuesday but the shipbuilder did not say when it was expected to be completed.
The vessel’s design is futuristic and streamlined – it will measure 88.5 metres long and 14 metres wide – and its unmanned systems and drones will be able to form a network to observe designated targets, according to the report. It will also have a monitoring and control system to keep track of how the vessel is operating remotely.
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The South China Sea dispute explained
The South China Sea dispute explained
Chinese marine research activities have been greeted with suspicion by neighbours in the resource-rich South China Sea, where its survey ships have caused disputes – though Beijing insists their activities are for the public good. China claims most of the waterway but those claims are contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
In 2019, a Chinese survey ship triggered a months-long stand-off between the coastguards of China and Vietnam after it sailed into waters near the Vietnamese-controlled Vanguard Bank in the Spratly Islands – known by China as the Nansha Islands. Hanoi accused the vessel of blocking an oil exploration project while Beijing said the ship was conducting a seismic survey.
Months later, another research vessel was expelled by an Indian warship for operating without permission in waters controlled by India.
The new ship was commissioned by the government-sponsored Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai).
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Construction begins on unmanned research ship
