At 11:00 PM on September 5, 2018, "Xiang Yang Hong 18", a comprehensive marine scientific expedition ship affiliated to the First Marine Research Institute of the State Oceanic Administration, set sail from Qingdao for the 2018 autumn shared voyage fund committee of the East China Sea conducted by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Thirty members from 13 domestic research institutes and universities have participated in the mission. The voyage is expected to last for 15 days with a voyage of 2,300 nautical miles. CTD, gravity sampling, submarine-laying, trawling missions and other investigation tasks are planned.

Before the voyage, Li Tiegang, director of the First Marine Research Institute of the State Oceanic Administration, Li Anhu, director of institution office, and Shi Fengdeng, from office of science and technology administration, and the personnel of the ship management center came to see them off. Mr. Li Tiegang and his crew boarded the ship to check the ship's readiness, and held the mobilization meeting on the foredeck. On the mobilization meeting, He stressed the importance of safe operations at sea, and required all departments to strictly observe operating procedures and carry out operations according to the voyage plan. At the same time, he emphasized that the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea had just ended summer fishing moratorium, and that close attention should be paid to the arrangement of fishing vessels and fishing nets during navigation and operation, aiming to ensure the safety of the research vessels in navigation and operation. He also reminded the shipping department to closely follow the weather conditions to ensure the successful completion of the voyage.

After the pre-voyage mobilization, "Xiang Yang Hong 18" slowly set sail from the Deep Sea Base Dock to the operating area for carrying out investigation tasks.