China’s fourth polar research icebreaker was delivered to the Ministry of Natural Resources in Guangzhou’s Nansha district on Monday and was expected to be sent out on research supply missions later this year.
‘Jidi’, which translates to ‘arctic region’, is the latest addition to China’s next generation of icebreakers, joining Xuelong 1 and Xuelong 2, whose mission is to support research and replenish supplies for the country’s seven stations at the North and South Poles. It was designed and built by CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering Company in Nansha, owned by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.
“In winter, the ship can sail in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea to break ice, monitor the marine environment and carry out sea ice measurements… and also carry out rescue operations in ice areas,” Cai Ruimou said, head designer of Jidi, at the state broadcaster CCTV.
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In an earlier interview, Cai said the ship can break ice up to 1 meter thick, making it suitable for travel in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, where ice usually forms first in the winter season and rarely becomes much thicker. than 1.2 meters. Multi-year ice can reach a thickness of 3 meters.
The ship will be used to conduct polar and deep-sea surveys during the summer months, Cai said. It would also help improve China’s marine disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, CCTV reported.
Jidi is the latest addition to China’s growing next-generation icebreaker fleet, allowing the country to undertake year-round scientific expeditions to geopolitically important areas. polar regions.
The boat first debuted at the Guangzhou Shipyard in December and has since been completed and tested.
Zhang Fumin, chief designer of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, told CCTV in January that the ship would be “beneficial” to the development of China’s maritime science and technology in the polar, deep-sea and long-range areas.
China’s fourth polar research icebreaker, Jidi, will undertake research missions later this year. Photo: CCTV alt=China’s fourth polar research icebreaker Jidi will undertake fact-finding missions later this year. Photo: CCTV>
‘The importance of completing the construction of the Jidi icebreaker research vessel is that our country has fully systematized the research research system of the entire ice zone, i.e. including the north and South Poles,” said Zhang.
According to Beijing Daily, China built more than 30 marine research vessels between 2010 and 2022, including the Xuelong Icebreakers and Zhongshan Daxue Jidi, which has the largest displacement and strongest comprehensive research capabilities of any icebreaker.
Jidi has a displacement of 5,600 tons, is 17.8 meters wide and 89 meters long: the length of three basketball courts.
With a range of 26,000 km (16,155 miles), the ship can stay at sea for up to 80 days with a crew of up to 60 people. The Jidi can carry drones, unmanned ships, autonomous underwater robots and other equipment used in deep polar seabed research.
Jidi’s “integrated research capability” means it is equipped to conduct research in air, space, sea, ice and underwater areas using China’s satellite network system.
It is also capable of simultaneously performing multidisciplinary, comprehensive scientific expedition tasks, including collecting atmospheric, geophysics and sea ice data, as well as collecting information from bodies of water.
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