China’s new-generation polar research icebreaker ‘Ji Di’ , (Polar) has been officially commissioned in July and will soon begin its scientific research missions in the second half of 2024.

The Jidi is a new generation of icebreaking research ship which was designed and developed independently by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited in Nansha of Guangzhou.  The vessel was under construction since November 2022.  In late June 2024, it set out from the shipyard in Nansha towards Qingdao where it was officially commissioned on July 5th and became its home port.

The new generation icebreaker measures 89.95 meters in length, 17.8 meters in width, and has a design speed of 15 nautical miles per hour. The vessel has 5,600 tons of total displacement and a range of 14,000 nautical miles allowing it to guarantee 80 days of operation at sea for 60 people with a single replenishment.

The research vessel is capable of breaking through one meter thick sea-ice and is equipped with drones, unmanned ships and underwater autonomous robots.

The vessel will operate in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea during winter for ice-breaking, marine environment monitoring, seawater measurement, and rescue missions in icy areas. In summer, it will conduct polar and deep-sea surveys. Equipped with comprehensive marine observation and sampling capabilities, the new research vessel is believed to help strengthen China's marine disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, and China's polar, deep-sea and long-distance marine science and technology.