![China's first domestically-built polar research vessel and icebreaker "Xuelong 2" prepares to take water at Jiangnan Shipyard in Chongming's Changxing Island in Shanghai, China, 10 September 2018. [Photo: IC]](http://img3.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20190224/cdfafe0c-c6b5-48e6-bf54-6f5cb2b0a2bd.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
China’s first domestically produced icebreaker “Xuelong 2” is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019 and start trial voyages, reported Guangming Daily on Saturday.
It will undergo a series of tests in the polar regions and will then help the current “Xuelong” in the 36th Antarctic research mission, according to the report.
The 122.5-meter-long and 22.3-meter-wide ship was designed by the 708th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and was assembled in Shanghai.
Compared to its predecessor, the Xuelong 2 will be more maneuverable with the use of two-way icebreaking technology.
The Xuelong 2 is expected to become the basic study platform in China’s polar expeditions utilizing the most advanced equipment, according to Polar Research Institute of China.
