China's first multifunctional scientific and archaeological research ship, a ship for offshore exploration and digging of ancient cultural artifacts from the seabed, was docked in the Nansha district of Guangzhou city of Guangdong, South China province, on Saturday, April 20.
The multifunctional ship, which is 104 meters long and carries approximately 10 thousand tons of water, was designed, developed and built entirely by China. The ship is capable of offshore scientific research and search for cultural assets on the seabed, as well as research around the polar seas during the summer season with its two-way ice breaking capacity.
On the other hand, the ship can accommodate 80 people and travel at a maximum speed of 16 knots (about 30 kilometers per hour). The ship, whose construction started in June 2023, required a total investment of 800 million yuan (about 112,7 million dollars).
The basic technologies applied in the design and construction process in terms of design, intelligent control, payload in icy areas and heavy payload structure integrated design were presented to He Guangwei, Deputy Chief Engineer of Guangzhou Shipyard International Company of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. It is groundbreaking. The ship, which will be checked, cleared of even the slightest defects, and whose living spaces will be equipped as necessary, will first be taken on trial voyages at sea and will be ready for delivery as planned at the beginning of 2025.