China's manned submersible Striver returns from rewarding deep-sea research journey

Photo shows Grimpoteuthis bathynectes taken by China's deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) at 5,500 meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean in the Diamantina Trench on Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

China's deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) returned to Sanya city, south China's Hainan Province, on March 11, with fruitful results, according to the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Fendouzhe completed 63 dives during its voyage aboard the country's scientific research ship Tansuo-1 in the ship's first international manned deep-diving scientific research mission in waters surrounding Oceania.

It dived 31 times into the Kermadec Trench in the southwest Pacific Ocean, submerging more than 10,000 meters under the Pacific Ocean's surface in the trench four times, and over 9,000 meters 10 times.

In the Diamantina Trench in the southeastern Indian Ocean, the submersible completed 30 dives, with destinations covering almost all the tectonic elements at the axial localities of the trench.

Fendouzhe has completed 189 dives, among which 25 reached a depth of over 10,000 meters. A total of 102 people from 23 domestic and international organizations have dived into the ocean with the submersible, with 29 people diving to a depth of over 10,000 meters with it.

In addition to manned deep-sea diving operations, the expedition team also completed routine research tasks like the deployment and recovery of landers, during the scientific research mission of the scientific research ship Tansuo-1.

The mission represented the first large-scale and systematic manned deep-diving survey carried out in the Kermadec Trench.