An Overview of Submersible Research and Development inChina

Abstract

Given the recent success in the development of several submersibles inChina, people’s interest in the history of submersible development is increasing.This paper presents the history of submersible development in China, which can bebriefly divided into three periods. The first one is the early period of hardship(1971–2000). Many prototype submersibles of HOVs, ROVs, and AUVs were developed atthis time, but the main achievement was the establishment of special researchorganizations and the training of research and development personnel. The secondperiod can be regarded as the quick development period (2001–2015). All currentlyused submersibles were developed during this period. The most remarkable achievementwas the successful development of 7000 m-deep manned submersible “Jiaolong.” Thethird period aims to develop 11 000 m submersibles for challenging the full oceandepth (2016–2020). In this period, two unmanned submersibles and two mannedsubmersibles will be the significant indicators of achievement. If this 5-year plancan be successfully completed, China can play a significant role in theinvestigation of the deepest part of the oceans, namely, the hadal trenches(6500–11 000 m).

Keywords

Hadal trenches / Submersibles / Deep tow system / Lander / Glider / Autonomous and remotely operated vehicle (ARV) / Human-occupied vehicle (HOV) / Full ocean depth (FOD)