With news of the fate of the five people aboard the Titan gripping the world over the holiday, it’s worth remembering that here in Jiangsu, we have our own extreme-deep water capabilities.
Named after a mythical sea dragon, “The Jiaolong”(蛟龙) submersible was built in Jiangyin of Wuxi in our very own Jiangsu Province. Located approximately 150 kilometres downstream of Nanjing, the City has long-standing importance as a maritime transportation hub.
With the launch and subsequent sea trials of The Jiaolong, Jiangyin’s maritime links extend all the way to the floor of some of the world’s deepest oceans.
The Jiaolong is capable of reaching the bottom of 99.8 percent of the world’s seas. From 2009 to 2012, the submersible succeeded in its trials to depths of 1,000 metres, 3,000 metres, 5,000-metres and 7,000 metres, attaining a maximum depth of 7,062 metres.
At the time, only three other crewed vessels had ever ventured further into the deep.
For reference, although at this time the reminder is likely unnecessary, the wreck of the Titanic sits at 3,800 metres.
More recently, in March, 2017, on a mission to the northwest Indian Ocean, The Jiaolong succeeded in collecting sulphide samples from the Wocan hydrothermal field, one of the most pristine and remarkable ecosystems on Earth.
The Jiaolong, however, is not alone. While it was the nation’s first, China has since launched two other deep-sea submersibles.
Firstly, there is the Deep Sea Warrior (深海勇士), launched in 2017 and capable of reaching depths of 4,500 metres.
But the jewel in China’s underwater exploratory crown is the “Striver” (奋斗者), which set a national record in November, 2020, when it became one of the select few submersibles in the world to have touched down in the Mariana Trench, making it to a depth of 10,909 metres.
With three people aboard, it was the largest crew ever to dive to Challenger Deep, the Trench’s deepest point.
The proud moment for China was live-streamed too, in what was the world’s first live video from Challenger Deep, as Phys.org reported at the time.
