SANYA, December 21. /TASS/. The Chinese research vessel Tanso-2 with the deep-water manned vehicle Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) anchored on Monday in the port of Sanya after an ocean expedition, reported Xinhua citing the Institute of Deep Sea Research and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Shenhai Yongshi is able to study resources, flora and fauna while diving to a depth of 4.5 km, as well as perform a number of other research tasks. In April 2020, during a dive on this device, the Chinese scientists discovered the remains of a whale approximately three meters long at a depth of 1,600 meters. This is the first such discovery in the South China Sea. All over the world, there are only about 50 such findings.
Earlier, the "Tanso-2" ship took part in the mission of the manned bathyscaphe Fendouzhe (The Warrior), which was on board another research vessel, "Tanso-1", which returned to the port of Sanya at the end of November. On November 10, this device set a new dive record for China, sinking into the Challenger Abyss to a depth of 10,909 meters in the Mariana Trench.
The Challenger Abyss is a deep canyon in the western Pacific Ocean, located 500 km southwest of Guam. It is named after the British survey ship, whose crew members were the first to measure this deepest depression on Earth in 1875.
Chinese scientists are gradually improving technology and achieving ever deeper immersion in the Mariana Trench. Previously, Fendouzhe demonstrated the best result for China on October 27, reaching a depth of 10,058 meters. In this part of the Pacific Ocean, other manned vehicles were also tested, including Jiaolong, but the absolute world record still belongs to the Five Deeps expedition, led by 54-year-old American Victor Veskovo. In May 2019, he single-handedly dived to 10,928 meters.