China's 'milestone' in deep-sea research

China is capable of exploring depths of 10,000 meters below the surface of the ocean after the Tan Suo Yi Hao, the mother ship of a 4,500-meter manned submersible, returned to her home port of Sanya, Hainan province, on Friday.

The vessel had just completed her maiden voyage, conducting deep-sea scientific investigations in the Mariana Trench, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

The Tan Suo Yi Hao, which is 94.45 meters long and 17.9 meters wide, with a 12,000 horsepower main engine and a range of 10,000 nautical miles, is a modified marine-engineering vessel.