Xue Long 2 icebreaker

The 2019-built RSV Xue Long 2 icebreaker (also known as Xuelong 2, translated as "Snow Dragon 2") is China's newest icebreaking vessel, following the country's first icebreaker, Xue Long (built in 1993). "RSV" stands for "research and supply vessel." The ship is owned by China's Polar Research Institute (PRI), which currently manages five Chinese polar research stations (four in Antarctica and one in the Arctic), as well as both icebreakers (Xue Long 1 and Xue Long 2).

The vessel (IMO number 9829241) is China-flagged (MMSI 413381260) and homeported and registered in Shanghai.

The polar bases managed by the shipowner, the Polar Research Institute of China, include Great Wall Station (founded in 1985 on King George Island, Antarctica), Zhongshan Station (founded in 1989 on Larsemann Hills, Prydz Bay/Antarctica), Kunlun Station (founded in 2009 on Dome Argus, King Haakon VII Plateau/Antarctica), Taishan Station (founded in 2014 on Princess Elizabeth Land/Antarctica), and Yellow River Station (founded in 2004 in Ny-Alesund, Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard Norway/Arctic).

Xue Long 2 vessel (construction, history, specs)

The icebreaking vessel is Polar Class 3/PC3 (the same ice class as the icebreakers Kronprins Haakon and Nuyina), with a design draft of 7.9 m (26 ft), maximum draft/full-load draft of 8.3 m (27 ft), displacement tonnage of 14,300 tonnes, and depth of 11.8 m (39 ft).

The powerplant is based on four Wartsila marine diesel engines/electricity generators: two 12V32 engines (12-cylinder, total 19.6 MW) and two 8L32 engines (8-cylinder, total 1 MW), with a combined power output of 20.6 MW. The propulsion system is diesel-electric, based on two "Azipod 6" units (ABB azimuth thrusters, 7.5 MW each, combined output 15 MW). Along with the Azipods, ABB also supplied A100-M turbochargers, designed for medium-speed marine engines, to enhance the engines' load response.

Xue Long 2 can navigate at a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 kph / 17 mph) in open water with two engines running and has icebreaking capacity of 1.5 m (5 ft) at 3 knots (6 kph / 3.5 mph). Her range is 20,000 NM (37,000 km / 23,000 mi), and her lowest operational temperature is -45°C (-49°F). The economic speed is 12 knots (22 kph / 14 mph).

The hull design allows two-way icebreaking, both forward and backward/astern.

The ship provides accommodation in two-bed and four-bed cabins for a total of 90 people (~30 crew plus ~60 mission personnel and scientists).

Signature features include the Helideck (aft-positioned helicopter landing platform), hangar for two aircraft, and Cargo Hold (forward-located storage for bulk cargoes, served by a heavy crane), as well as two large-capacity lifeboats positioned portside and starboard. Onboard scientific equipment includes laboratories (wet labs and dry labs), Seminar Room (80-seat capacity), Scientific Control Room, underwater/hull bottom-mounted instruments, Working Deck (aft, fitted with A-Frame, several cranes and winches), Moon Pool (midship, for diving support and instrument deployment), USBL (ultra-short baseline tracking system), and 12 underwater instruments in total, including 2x ADCPs (acoustic Doppler current profilers), 2x EA600 single-beam hydrographic echo sounders, 2x Wartsila ELAC Nautik SeaBeam deepwater multibeam systems, 2x Kongsberg EM710 multibeam echo sounders, and 4x Kongsberg Simrad EK60 scientific echo sounders. Radio communications are facilitated by two satellite dishes (L/S, K/U) and one AWS antenna (Amazon Web Services).

In 2012, Aker Arctic Technology Oy (a Finnish engineering company founded in 2004) was contracted for EUR 5 million to design the vessel. The hull model was ice-tested at Aker Arctic's facility in Helsinki, Finland. However, the design project was largely developed by the Shanghai-based MARIC (Marine Design and Research Institute of China, founded in 1950).

In 2011, MacGregor (specializing in engineering solutions), part/subsidiary of Cargotec Corporation/Cargotec Oyj (a Finnish cargo-handling machinery company founded in 2005), was contracted to develop the technical solutions, including deck handling equipment.

MacGregor provided the ship's three offshore cranes, Working Deck handling systems (research equipment and machinery), oceanographic winches, Cargo Hold hatch covers, as well as spare parts and service support.

Construction of the newbuild started in December 2016 at China State Shipbuilding Corporation's (CSSC) Jiangnan Shipyard.

The vessel (yard/hull number H2650) was launched/floated out from drydock on September 10, 2018, and delivered and commissioned on July 11, 2019. Sea trials were conducted in May-June 2019. Later, the ship departed from Shanghai en route to Antarctica via Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The 3.5-hour icebreaking sea trials in Antarctica, near Zhongshan Station, were successfully conducted on November 26, 2019.

The ship's maiden voyage was part of China's 36th Antarctic Expedition, transporting supplies (fuel and provisions) to Great Wall Station and loading the base's waste for disposal in China. Xue Long 2 returned to Shanghai on April 23. This was China's first polar expedition with two icebreakers traveling in tandem: Xue Long 1 and Xue Long 2. During the 198-day voyage, both vessels covered a distance of 70,000+ NM (~130,000 km / 80,500 mi) and carried a total of 413 personnel (support staff, scientists, and researchers).