Key points
- The result was announced on January 22 in Nanjing, voted by academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.
- Mengxiang, China’s first domestically designed and built ocean drilling vessel, entered service in Guangzhou on November 17, 2024.
- The vessel has a maximum drilling depth of 11,000 meters and is a 14th Five-Year Plan national science and technology project.
- It was designed by the CSSC 708th Research Institute and built by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding.
On the morning of January 22, the results of the annual selection of China’s and the world’s top 10 science and technology advances of 2024, voted by academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, were announced in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The formal entry into service of Mengxiang (Dream), China’s first ocean drilling vessel, was selected among China’s top 10 science and technology advances of 2024. Officials from the equipment department of the China Geological Survey and from the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey attended the award ceremony.
Mengxiang, China’s first domestically designed and built ocean drilling vessel, formally entered service in Guangzhou on November 17, 2024. The ship is a major national science and technology innovation project of the 14th Five-Year Plan, with a maximum drilling depth of 11,000 meters, and is described as the ocean drilling vessel with the strongest drilling capability, the most complete scientific laboratory functions, the highest level of intelligent systems and the lowest overall operating and maintenance costs in the world.
Mengxiang can carry out major national missions including ocean scientific drilling, deep-sea oil and gas exploration, and natural gas hydrate exploration and trial production. It is expected to help realize the long-held goals of drilling through the crust into the upper mantle and developing the Earth’s deep resources, and to substantially strengthen China’s capabilities in deep-sea access, deep-sea exploration and deep-sea development, providing equipment support for China’s maritime development and its ability to secure its own energy and resource supply.
The vessel was built under the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources, with the China Geological Survey organizing implementation, the CSSC 708th Research Institute responsible for research and design, and CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co. responsible for construction.
