China Starts Construction on Deep-Diving Manned "Subsea Lab"

 

China is moving ahead with plans to build a deep-sea manned laboratory - a stationary submarine with a crew of six and a maximum working depth of 2,000 meters. 

The proposal has been in the works for years: it received an endorsement from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017 and made its way into the 14th Five-Year Plan in 2021. On Friday, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology in Guangzhou kicked off a five-year program to start construction on the 600-ton deep sea submersible. 

The manned subsea lab is designed for the study of cold seeps, areas of the seabed where oil and gas leak out naturally into the water column. Most oceanographic research programs are limited in duration by necessity, as existing research submersibles have short loiter times at the bottom. The subsea lab concept would allow scientists days or weeks to monitor the ecosystem with ROVs, "manned mobile observation platforms," and other high-end devices for subsea exploration. Resident scientists will be able to stay submerged for 30 days at a time before resurfacing. 

According to Global Times, the technology developed during the subsea lab project could have secondary applications in deep-sea mining, O&G exploration, and "rights protection" of China's ambitious maritime sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. Specific areas of technological focus include fabrication of large, high-pressure titanium alloy components, as well as depth-rated hatches for docking submersibles at 2,000 meters. The latter could have applications for submarine rescues. 

Illustrations of the submersible suggest a design with five joined spherical pressure hulls - much like Russia's highly secretive Losharik, a deep-diving spy sub designed to tap subsea cables. All going to plan, the submersible should be ready to begin sea trials in 2030.