The submersible commenced its dive at 7:30 a.m. (local time) and will return to the Xiangyanghong 09 oceanographic vessel at around 5:30 p.m.
The crew included Fu Wentao, one of the divers of Jiaolong; Ye Cong, chief designer of Jiaolong and an employee of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp.; and Tao Chunhui, researcher with the Second Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration.
Being the first task of Jiaolong's Indian Ocean mission, the main purpose of the dive is to test whether all parts of the submersible work well after a four-month-maintenance, Fu said, adding that the depth of the dive is around 2,700 meters to 3,000 meters.
"If the submersible is all fine and there is extra time left, we will carry out some scientific investigations," he said.
"Our scientists want to get some samples of rocks, biology and sulfide in the submarine hydrothermal area," Tao said, adding: "If we are lucky enough to find an active hydrothermal vent, we will try to get a sample of the hydrothermal fluid and test its temperature."
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
