China has commissioned a fully automated, "most advanced" marine science ship which will be deployed in the Indian Ocean.
The vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 01, was commissioned yesterday in the eastern port city of Qingdao.
The 100-metre long ship with displacement of 4,980 tonnes and a range of 15,000 nautical miles has plentiful remote sensing equipment to explore as deep as 10,000 meters.
The ship will conduct its first task in the Indian Ocean, Qiao Fangli, Communist Party Secretary of the First Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration said.
It is fully automated and can be piloted by a lone sailor.
Satellite broadband enables video conferencing on board, said Yang Zhigang, board chairman of its builder Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group of Hubei province.
