Crane and deck machinery specialist Rapp Marine said Dec. 22
that it will supply advanced equipment packages for two new oceanographic
research vessels being built for Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey and the
Polar Research Institute of China.
The research vessel for the Polar Research Institute of
China will be a 122.5-meter (402 foot) icebreaker – the first icebreaker built
in China. It will operate the vessel in the Southern Ocean, with a view to
supplying China’s Antarctic Zhongshan Station.
The Polar Research Institute is a non-profit organization
reporting directly to the State Ocean Administration and is also the only
organization in China that has specialized in polar expeditions. Today they
operate the Xue Long, a vessel that will work together with the new icebreaker
to supply and assist researchers at the Antarctic Zhongshan Station.
The oceanographic research vessel for the Marine Geological
Survey is expected to engage in surveillance, research and advisory services.
Onboard are laboratories and workstations are used to collect the data that is
analyzed by researchers and scientific advisors.
“We have worked long and hard to land these contracts, so this
is a joyful occasion,” Rapp Marine Senior Vice President of Sales &
Marketing Tove Pettersen said. “Most maritime nations are working on plans to
build oceangoing research vessels and we are involved in exciting processes for
a number of similar projects, apart from which we also see an increasing demand
from the fishery sector.”
