China completes renovation of deep-sea manned submersible mother ship

The Tansuo-2 (Exploration-2), the mother ship of China’s manned submersible capable of diving to 10,000 meters, has finished an 18-month refit and returned to its home port in Sanya City in Hainan Province.

The ship, mainly painted white and green, left Fuzhou Port in the southeastern province of Fujian on Thursday and arrived in Sanya on Sunday afternoon.

Owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Tansuo-2 has advanced electric and positioning systems.

It can carry 60 researchers and is the mother ship for the manned submersibles Fendouzhe (Striver) and Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior), which are capable of diving to of 10,000 meters and 4,500 meters.

The 87.2-meter vessel is 18.8 meters wide and 6,800 tons when fully loaded.

It has a maximum speed of 14.2 knots and a range of 15,000 nautical miles, longer than that of the Tansuo-1.

The refit started in December 2018 at the Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Co.

Engineers have also upgraded the ship with more labs and increased cabin comfort for researchers.