China science breakthrough: ‘Sea Dragon’ underwater robot reaches record depth of nearly 6km
Remotely operated vehicle dived to 5,630 metres near undersea mountains in the northwest Pacific during scientific expedition in the area
China’s newest unmanned underwater robot has reached a depth of 5,630 metres in its latest test dive – going deeper below the ocean surface than any Chinese vehicle of its type has gone before.
About the size of a car, the Hailong 11000, or Sea Dragon, was put to the test near undersea mountains in the northwest Pacific Ocean, the Ministry of Natural Resources said on Monday.
The deepest a Chinese remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, had gone before was 5,611 metres – a record set by the Haixing 6000 last year.
The test dive lasted for about 13 hours and involved tasks such as high-definition photography and observation. It was carried out as part of a broader scientific expedition in the area that began last month and runs until November.
The Hailong 11000 is the first ultra-deep sea ROV to be designed and manufactured in China, according to Ge Tong, a naval engineering professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Ge’s team led the engineering work on the underwater robot, which he said was designed to reach a maximum depth of 11,000 metres – about that of the deepest part of the ocean at Mariana Trench.