China's deep-sea drilling capacity reaches 5,000-metre level
Guangzhou (ANTARA) - China’s deep-sea drilling vessel, Mengxiang, has set a national record for deep-sea drilling, increasing its capability to the 5,000-metre level after obtaining basalt samples from the South China Sea basin, the Ministry of Natural Resources stated on Monday, as reported by Xinhua.
This achievement marks China’s entry into the international forefront of deep-sea drilling operational capacity, according to the ministry.
A 4.27-metre basalt rock sample was successfully extracted during the voyage using independently developed drilling equipment, making China the third country after the United States and Japan to successfully obtain hard rock samples from a deep-sea basin using a drilling vessel.
The research team conducted long-term, high-intensity operations using ship-based remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), deploying two ROVs to operate for a total of more than 358 hours at a depth of 4,000 metres. One continuous operation lasted up to 103 hours, reaching an international leading standard, said Sun Zhen, a researcher at the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS).
Following the standards of the International Ocean Discovery Program for the first time, researchers also completed on-site multi-parameter processing and analysis of the samples, including cataloguing, cutting, scanning, testing, and storage. This demonstrates mastery of the full operational process for scientific deep-sea drilling in ultra-deep waters.
The samples and data obtained during the voyage provide crucial empirical evidence to address various core scientific issues. These findings also hold significant importance for the study of ancient marine environmental evolution in the region, as well as for the exploration and development of energy resources in ultra-deep waters, according to the researchers.
A total of 170 researchers from nine institutions participated in the voyage, which was organised by the China Geological Survey and executed by the GMGS.
China’s first domestically-built deep-sea drilling vessel, Mengxiang, officially commenced operations in 2024.