The vessel will have an overall length of 77.7 meters and a waterline of 75.20 meters. |
Xiamen University officially began construction on a 3,000-ton research vessel on?March 30th. The construction work will take about 1 year, and the vessel is expected to a part of the major force in China’s ocean research in decades to come.
The vessel will have an overall length of 77.7 meters and a waterline of 75.20 meters. It has a molded breadth of 16.24 meters, a molded depth of 8 meters, a designed draft of 5 meters, a designed full-load displacement of 3,432 tons, a maximum speed of 14 knots (26 km/h) and a cruising radius of 10,000 nautical miles. With a crew of 54 (including 18 sailors and 36 scientists), the vessel will be capable of 50 days of self-supportability. It will also have a working deck of 432 square meters and a laboratory of 375 square meters.
Taking advantage of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Institute of Oceanography and capitalizing on the international influence of its marine disciplines, XMU will transform the vessel into a floating university on the sea which will promote research on global changes, education in marine science and technological exchanges in the ASEAN region, and into a “Confucius Institute” on the sea which will advance Chinese culture and facilitate global cultural communication.