China to build manned submersible which can reach all seabeds

BEIJING: China is developing a manned submersible capable of taking a crew to all of earth's sea floors, the country's Shipbuilding Industry Corporation said.

The project is led by the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) research institute that developed Jiaolong, China's first manned deep-sea submersible which had set a Chinese record in June 2012 by reaching 7,062 metres deep in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench, allowing the vessel to conduct research and exploration on 99.8 percent of the world's seafloors.

The CSIC has also been developing a manned submersible that can reach a depth of 4,500 metres.


It is now working on the final assembly and testing of the vessel, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a subsidiary of the CSIC is building a mothership, with a displacement of around 4,000 tonnes, for Jiaolong, expected to be put into service in March 2019.