Striver (bathyscaphe)

Striver (Fen-Dou-Zhe; 奋斗者) bathyscaphe is a type of deep-submergence vehicle built in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). It can accommodate three crew members,   and is designed to reach depths of more than 10,000 meters. Striver is equipped with two mechanical arms, seven underwater cameras, seven sonars, hydraulic drills, and other scientific devices.

On 10 November 2020, the bottom of the Challenger Deep was reached by Striver with three Chinese scientists (Zhang Wei, Zhao Yang, and Wang Zhiqiang) onboard whilst livestreaming the descent to a reported depth of 10909 m.

Design
In comparison to the earlier Deep Sea Warrior bathyscaphe that was 95% domestically built, Striver is 96.5% domestic,  but can dive more than twice as deep. A significant portion of the onboard equipment has to be allocated to support the dive. In comparison to the ten-hour endurance of Deep Sea Warrior, Striver lasts for six hours. Striver can dive and surface much faster, and its crew compartment is built of titanium alloy Ti62A, specially developed for use on Striver, and a new welding method. It is equipped with cameras made by the Norwegian manufacturer Imenco. The designer is Ye Cong. The mechanical arms of Striver were developed by Shenyang Institute of Automation, and each is capable of handling 60 kg of weight. The motherships of the Striver bathyscaphe are the same ones used for Deep Sea Warrior bathyscaphe: Chinese research vessel Explorer 1 (Tan-Suo 1, or 探索一号 in Chinese) and Explorer 2.

Specification


Specifications are:
 * Weight: 36 ton
 * Crew: 3
 * Payload: 240 kg
 * Endurance: 6 hours