Tan Suo San Hao

Tan Suo San Hao is a Chinese icebreaking research vessel under construction for the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Concurrently with Tan Suo San Hao, Guangzhou Shipyard International built a slightly smaller Polar Class 6 research vessel, Ji Di, which entered service in June 2024.

Design
Tan Suo San Hao measures 104 m in length overall and 19.7 m in beam, draws 7 m of water, and displaces about 10000 t. The vessel has a multidisciplinary scientific outfit with accommodation for up to 80 persons as well as ability to deploy China's deep-sea research submersibles Striver, Deep Sea Warrior, and Jiaolong. A 6 by moon pool allows deploying and recovering autonomous underwater vehicles in ice-covered waters.

Tan Suo San Hao's diesel-electric propulsion system consists of four 3000 kW six-cylinder Wärtsilä 6L32 main diesel generators that power the ship's two 4.5 MW ABB Azipod DI1400 azimuth thrusters. This will give the vessel a maximum speed of 16 kn in open water and enables it to break 1.2 m level ice with a 20 cm snow cover at a continuous speed of 2 kn in both ahead and astern directions.

Tan Suo San Hao is built to Polar Class 4, an ice class intended for year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may contain small inclusions of old sea ice that has survived at least one melting season without melting completely.

Development and construction
Tan Suo San Hao is claimed to be the first research vessel of its kind developed indigenously in China. The ¥800 million ship has been jointly funded by the People's Government of Hainan, Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, and the vessel's future operator, Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The construction of the vessel began with a steel cutting ceremony at Guangzhou Shipyard International, a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, on 25 June 2023 and Tan Suo San Hao was floated out on 20 April 2024.

Career
Tan Suo San Hao is planned to enter service in 2025.