China's First Homegrown Ocean Drillship Enters Service
China's first domestically built drilling ship the Mengxiang, meaning dream, was commissioned in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on November 17, marking a major breakthrough in the country's deep-sea exploration technology and equipment.
The Mengxiang, nearly 180 meters long and 33 meters wide, can travel 15,000 nautical miles, and self-sustain for 120 days, accommodating 180 people. Able to operate in unlimited navigational areas worldwide, it can survive super typhoons.
Sun Zhen, chief scientist of the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 367, said the Mengxiang has reached international standards in the maximum depth to which it can drill, drilling methods and other performances.
For a long time, drilling through Earth's crust and into the upper mantle was a scientific dream. The mantle, accounting for four-fifths of Earth's volume and three-fourths of its mass, is full of scientific mysteries to be explored.
Previously, there were only two ocean drilling ships worldwide, one belonging to the U.S. and the other to Japan. With the Mengxiang, China officially becomes the third country to possess a professional ocean drilling ship.
There is a saying in drilling science: "Drilling 10,000 meters is as difficult as landing on the moon." However, the Mengxiang is equipped with the world's most advanced drilling system and has four drilling modes as well as three coring methods. It can drill up to 11,000 meters in the sea and perform different tasks such as drilling and coring and deep-sea resource exploration.
Besides, its nine laboratories spread over 3,000 square meters will aid research in various academic disciplines like geology, paleomagnetism, organic geochemistry, microbiology, and geophysics.
Its smart ship system can gather and analyze data, and conduct intelligent monitoring of operations, intelligent collaboration in experiments, intelligent health protection.
The Mengxiang is planned to complete its first ocean drilling in the next two years, contributing to the exploration and utilization of marine energy resources, national energy security, and maritime power construction.
