Domestic drilling ship put into service

China's first domestically built ocean drilling vessel was commissioned on Sunday in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, marking a major leap in the nation's deep-sea exploration and mining endeavors.

The colossal ship — called Mengxiang, or "Dream" — was mainly designed by the Marine Design and Research Institute of China in Shanghai and was constructed by Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co in Guangzhou.

Both the institute and the shipyard are part of China State Shipbuilding Corp, a State-owned conglomerate and the world's largest shipbuilder.

The ship's construction began in November 2021 and was basically completed in December 2023, when it went on its maiden trial voyage. It underwent several sea trials before the commissioning.

More than 150 companies and institutes participated in the vessel's design and construction work.

With a length of 179.8 meters and a width of 32.8 meters, the ship displaces 42,600 metric tons of water and can travel about 27,800 kilometers in a single voyage and sustain itself for 120 days without needing resupply. During a typical scientific expedition, it can accommodate 180 sailors and researchers.

It is able to operate in any sea, except those in polar regions, and can navigate against extremely strong winds — up to level 16 on the Beaufort scale.

Thanks to its unique propulsion system design, the vessel is very agile and is even capable of spinning at sea.

When it comes to drilling capacity, the ship is able to drill as far as 11,000 meters beneath the sea into the Earth's crust and into the upper mantle, according to designers.

The mantle, which consists primarily of rock and ice, is generally the largest layer of a planetary body. The Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core. It accounts for 67 percent of the Earth's mass and makes up about 84 percent of the planet's volume.

Mengxiang is equipped with the world's most advanced drilling system and has four drilling modes, depending on its specific tasks.

An area of more than 3,000 square meters is reserved on the vessel for nine laboratories involved in basic geology, paleomagnetism, organic geochemistry, microbiology, geophysics, drilling technology and other academic disciplines.

The China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources will be its primary user.

It is expected to strengthen China's capabilities in deep-sea resource exploration and the development of key technologies and hardware, and will help scientists around the world conduct ocean drills, according to a news release from the Ministry of Natural Resources.