Recently, Xiangyanghong 01 is conducting the Winter Voyage on Integrated Water Investigation in the Southern Part of the East Indian Ocean, which belongs to the specialized project of Global Climate Change and Sea-air Interaction, and has smoothly finished the observation mission on serial observation stations. Xiangyanghong 01 will then berth in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 6 January 2018 for rest and resupply.

As the forth segment of the Integrated Water Investigation in the Southern Part of the East Indian Ocean, this voyage, led by FIO, aims to acquire data of marine hydrology and meteorology, marine biology, marine chemistry and ocean optics of the region by using various observing methods such as serial observation, ship-based observation, moored observation and buoy observation, thus increasing the understanding of the system structure of current and characteristics of temperature-salinity during the winter monsoon season , the features of general atmospheric circulation and the sea-air interaction process as well as the seasonal distribution and evolution law of marine chemistry and ecological environmental elements.

Xiangyanghong 18, carrying 54 scientists and crew members from FIO and National Ocean Technology Center, departed from Qingdao on 17 November 2017 and has finished the serial observation on 97 preset stations, launched one Bailong buoy and one deep-sea submerged buoy, retrieved one deep-sea submerged buoy and set 4 Argo drifting buoys after continuous voyage and work for more than 50 days. Finishing refuelling and restocking in Colombo, Xiangyanghong 18 will proceed to set and maintain deep-sea submerged buoys and the Bailong buoy, and is expected to arrive in Qingdao in early February.

This voyage marks Xiangyanghong 18’s first stop at an outer port and also the first time for a 1500-ton Chinese research vessel voyaging in the deep ocean to do long-time integrated investigation, making Xiangyanghong 18 a new record of China as being the lightest research vessel working in the Indian Ocean. The voyage also makes China’s first integrated observation in the region to study marine environmental elements in the winter, thus providing essential data for the security of Maritime Silk Road and the follow-up scientific research.