Chinese icebreakers set sail for Antarctic rendezvous that will herald ‘new era of polar exploration’
China has sent two icebreakers to the Antarctic in its most ambitious polar expedition to the resource-rich continent yet.
- Snow Dragons’ Xuelong and Xuelong II leave on China’s 36th Antarctic expedition
- Mission to resource-rich continent is country’s most ambitious yet
The Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, left Shanghai on Tuesday morning with a crew of 107 and 1,450 tonnes of supplies on board. It is expected to meet another icebreaker, Xuelong II, at Zhongshan Station on Prydz Bay in East Antarctica in late November before the ships carry out separate missions in the region.
This will be the 36th official Antarctic expedition for China, and the first involving two research icebreakers. Xuelong II, the first Chinese-built vessel of its kind, was commissioned in July and left for its maiden Antarctic journey last week. The ships will be back in China by late spring next year.The voyages have been hailed by state media as “the start of China’s new era of polar exploration”. Zhao Yanping, the captain of Xuelong II, was quoted by the Science Daily website as saying that experts believed the ships could significantly expand Chinese science missions in the polar regions....
....MUCH MORE
It was a little over a year ago we posted "China Launches Its First Domestically Built Icebreaker" wherein China used the strategy worked out with their aircraft carriers:
1) Buy a ship from Ukraine (in the case of the aircraft carrier they said it was going to be used as a casino)
2) Reverse engineer as much tech as you need to design the homebrew version.
3) Build Xue Long II
The next stage will be nuclear powered ships, with requests for quotes on a nuke icebreaker having gone out and said icebreaker, when built, being the test platform for upcoming nuclear aircraft carriers.
We posted on the near disaster of the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Star Antarctic venture last year:
Previously on the travels and travails of the Polar Star:
March 2019
An Account of The Voyage Of The Icebreaker USCG Polar Star (It's bad)
January 2019
The Only U.S. Heavy Icebreaker Suffers MULTIPLE Mechanical Problems On Voyage To Antarctica
December 2018
"US Coast Guard Turns Down Arctic Exercise Because 40-year-old Icebreaker Might Break Down And Would Require Russian Help"
September 2018
U.S. Watchdog Warns The Coast Guard To Get Real About Its Plans To Field Critical New Icebreakers
Meanwhile in June 2018 a non-Arctic nation: "China opens bids for first nuclear-powered icebreaker"
And March 2019: "China to Use First Atomic Icebreaker as Test for Future Nuclear Aircraft Carriers":
From High North News:
The country’s first atomic icebreaker will rival Russia’s largest nuclear icebreakers in size. China will become only the second country to operate such a vessel and it will pave the way for the country’s first nuclear aircraft carriers.
We posted on the near disaster of the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Star Antarctic venture last year:
Previously on the travels and travails of the Polar Star:
March 2019
An Account of The Voyage Of The Icebreaker USCG Polar Star (It's bad)
January 2019
The Only U.S. Heavy Icebreaker Suffers MULTIPLE Mechanical Problems On Voyage To Antarctica
December 2018
"US Coast Guard Turns Down Arctic Exercise Because 40-year-old Icebreaker Might Break Down And Would Require Russian Help"
September 2018
U.S. Watchdog Warns The Coast Guard To Get Real About Its Plans To Field Critical New Icebreakers
Meanwhile in June 2018 a non-Arctic nation: "China opens bids for first nuclear-powered icebreaker"
And March 2019: "China to Use First Atomic Icebreaker as Test for Future Nuclear Aircraft Carriers":
From High North News:
The country’s first atomic icebreaker will rival Russia’s largest nuclear icebreakers in size. China will become only the second country to operate such a vessel and it will pave the way for the country’s first nuclear aircraft carriers.
