The Jiaolong deep sea submersible

China has recruited six trainees of deep-sea submersible operators and been building its State Deep Sea Base in Qingdao.

The six trainees will take a 2-year course and be certified operators after passing the examination. By that time, China will have eight deep-sea submersible operators.

There are two female trainees among the six. It is said that females are more careful and patient for the task of operating a deep-sea submersible.

Deep sea is a field human beings know even less about than space, so that deep sea exploration is very dangerous. China has adopted nine safety measures for the Jiaolong, the most in the world.

In addition to the Jiaolong, earlier this year, China successfully tested its Qianlong 1 6,000-meter grade deep-sea unmanned submarine without cable link that can move freely to explore a large area and its Hailong unmanned submersible with cable link that can remain submerged for a long time and take samples from the seabed.

The report says that the Jiaolong will conduct two survey voyages in 2014: a survey in May and another in June of the environment and resources in the Northwest Pacific Ocean where cobalt crusts are abundant. They will also conduct a survey of the resources and organisms in the areas with hot liquid sulfides in Southwest India Ocean in late 2014.

Besides scientific exploration, China will gradually achieve commercial application of the Jiaolong for deep-sea tourism.

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Categories: Mining & Energy

Tags: China, Chinese technology, cobalt crust, Deep sea, Deep-submergence vehicle, Hailong, Jiaolong, Mining, Pacific Ocean, qianlong, Qingdao, seabed mining, Tourism