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April 9, 2012

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2014 date for new icebreaker

CHINA'S new icebreaker, now at the design stage, is set to begin operations in 2014, officials said yesterday.

The home-produced vessel will team up with Xue Long - Snow Dragon - currently the nation's only icebreaker, said officials from the Polar Research Institute of China.

They were speaking after Xue Long, bought from the Ukraine in 1993, returned to its base in Shanghai after completing its 28th expedition to the Antarctic.

During the expedition, scientists collected deep ice core samples from Dome A, the highest elevation in the South Pole, and installed a large telescope there.

Officials said the new vessel would be designed by China, along with other countries with greater experience in icebreakers, and built in China.

"It will be a real icebreaker, since Xue Long was a transport ship converted for polar work," said Weng Lixin from the institute.

"The new icebreaker will be equipped with the most advanced appliances for marine, polar and astronomical research," Weng said.

To ensure more precise research data, the ship will be fitted with dynamic positioning, a computer-controlled system that uses the vessel's propellers to automatically maintain its position.




 

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