Key points
- The 8,000-tonne-class deep-sea comprehensive trial ship Changhe Haiyang was launched in Taizhou, Zhejiang on May 5.
- It was built through cooperation between CRIMM and Taihe Ocean Technology Group.
- The ship will carry the national 863 project on a 500-meter water-depth pump and pipe transport system sea trial, a first for China.
- The vessel was set to depart for the South China Sea at the end of May.
At 7 o’clock on the morning of May 5, the 8,000-tonne-class deep-sea equipment comprehensive trial ship Changhe Haiyang (Changhe Ocean), built with investment through the cooperation of Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CRIMM) and Taihe Ocean Technology Group, was successfully launched in Taizhou, Zhejiang. The ship was named Changhe Haiyang to signify the long-term cooperation between the company and Taihe Ocean Technology Group in jointly developing the marine mineral resources development enterprise. On its maiden voyage the ship will carry the sea trial of the national 863 project “Deep-Sea Mining 500-Meter Water-Depth Pump and Pipe Transport System” undertaken by the company. A trial of this kind is a first for China. The successful launch of the trial ship marks that the preparations for the sea trial are basically complete; the ship will set out for the South China Sea at the end of May to conduct the sea trial.
Deputy director Li Bo and deputy division director Li Xiangyang of the COMRA office, deputy director Ji Shifei of the Population, Resources and Environment Committee of the Hunan Provincial CPPCC, company deputy general manager Li Maolin, and relevant leaders and experts from the 701st Research Institute, the Guangzhou South China Sea Branch and other organizations attended the launching ceremony of the trial ship Changhe Haiyang.
