Advanced rescue ship planned

Primary task will involve search operations in the South China Sea

China State Shipbuilding Corp is designing what it says is the world's most advanced rescue ship, and plans to commission it around 2021.

The State-owned shipbuilder's Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute said in a statement that the ship, which has yet to be named, will be tasked with conducting search-and-rescue operations in the South China Sea with the Transport Ministry's Nanhai Rescue Bureau.