A ship carrying China's deep-diving submersible Jiaolong reached the northeastern Pacific Ocean 2 p.m. Saturday (Beijing time) where the submersible will make a 5,000-meter dive.
The submersible is the world's first manned submersible designed to reach depths of 7,000 meters below sea level, according to Xu Qinan, the submersible's chief designer.
The conditions over the next three to four days are not suitable for the diving test, and "we are waiting for an appropriate time," said Liu Feng, the test's commander in chief, during a video call with the State Oceanic Administration.
Currently, the sea is rough in the test area, Liu said.
He said the team would carefully prepare for the test over the next few days, including personnel training and equipment maintenance.
During the planned upcoming dive, the submersible will undergo several operational tests in which it will take photos, shoot video, survey seabeds and take samples from the ocean floor, said Jin Jiancai, deputy director of the submersible's diving test program team.
The ship, Haiyang-6 or Ocean-6, which will assist Jiaolong in the test, will conduct investigations and select the area for the submersible's 7,000-meter dive, said Yang Shengxiong, chief scientist of Haiyang-6.