National deep-sea base to be finished by end of 2014   

国家深海基地年底竣工 蛟龙号今年将两次出海

The national deep-sea base under construction. (Photo: China Ocean News)

(ECNS) – China's national deep-sea base, located in a coastal area of Shandong's Jimo city, is poised to be finished by the end of this year.

Upon completion, the base will become China's biggest port for research vessels and a massive support base for deep-sea research, technology, equipment, resource investigation and scientific education.

The base entails an investment of over 500 million yuan (US$82 million), covering 26 hectares of land and 62.7 hectares of sea. It includes a research building, a large pool for experimental dives, and training facilities.

The base will also be the home port of Jiaolong, China's manned submersible.

Liu Feng, director of the base's administration center, said Jiaolong is set for two voyages this year. The first will embark in late June for an exploration area in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, and the second will be in late November in the Southwest Indian Ocean. Between 10 to 15 scientists will be on the submersible to conduct research on seabed mining and marine organisms.