Two Chinese icebreaker research vessels and a cargo ship set sail last November 1st for the Antarctic with more than 460 personnel on board to help complete construction of China’s fifth Research Station on the world’s southernmost continent, which could be finished next year.
China’s biggest flotilla of research vessels deployed to the Antarctic will focus on building the station on the rocky, windswept Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, a deep Southern Ocean bay named after a 19th century British explorer.
Work on the first Chinese station in the Pacific sector, began in 2018. It will be used to conduct research on the region’s environment, state television reported.
The two icebreakers, Xuelong 1 and Xuelong 2, the name means “Snow Dragon” in Chinese, set sail from Shanghai with mostly personnel and logistics supplies on board.
The cargo ship “Tianhui”, or “Divine Blessings”( TIAN HUI, General Cargo Ship – Details and current position – IMO 9774599 – VesselFinder) , taking construction material for the station, set off from the eastern port of Zhangjiagang.
The five-month mission will include a survey on the impact of climate change.
The two icebreakers will also conduct environmental surveys in the Prydez Bay, the Astronaut Sea in southeast Antarctic, and in the Ross Sea and Amundsen Sea in the west.
This China’s mission to the Antarctic, will also cooperate with countries including the United States, Britain, and Russia on logistics supply, state media said.
Source: China’s Biggest Antarctic Fleet Sets Off To Build Fifth Research Station (ndtv.com)