The Qiaoyuan, a new-generation twin-hull deep-sea survey vessel, was recently launched in waters off the Taizhou city in East China's Zhejiang province. 

As the biggest vessel of its kind in China with leading overall performance and innovative technologies, it leverages multiple original technologies to overcome key technical barriers, addressing the existing gap in China's high-end survey equipment for deep-sea operations. 

Its core supporting unit, an offshore drilling rig, was supplied by China Geological Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (CGEG), an affiliate of Sinomach. The equipment provides vital support for high-precision survey work onboard the Qiaoyuan.

[Photo/BRDI]

During the vessel's development, R&D teams overcame technical barriers for advanced marine survey equipment. All core equipment including offshore drilling rigs, downhole penetration systems and samplers were independently developed, achieving a 100% localization rate.

A view on the deck of the new vessel. [Photo/Sinomach]

This offshore drilling rig is an updated model newly rolled out by CGEG this year. The HY-300B wave-compensated drilling rig was built on the company's solid technical expertise. 

CGEG has solved the challenge of maintaining stable operations amid fluctuating sea waves, further maturing its wave compensation technology. The drilling rig works at greater water depths and withstands higher waves with improved accuracy. 

Equipped with powerful dynamic compensation capacity against large wave swells, it greatly raises sampling success rates under harsh sea conditions and operates steadily in complex marine environments, fully meeting the demands of round-the-clock and long-duration offshore tasks.

As a leading player in geological equipment manufacturing, CGEG is continuing to advance R&D of offshore engineering survey equipment. It has mastered core technologies such as precision marine penetration and wave compensation, realizing independent control over key survey equipment. 

Drilling rigs of this series have served major projects including pre-construction seabed surveys for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the offshore wind farms in Yangjiang, Guangdong province, accumulating solid operational experience under extreme working conditions. 

The new HY-300B model, building on previous achievements, features comprehensive performance upgrades. 

Going forwards, the company plans to continue to develop high-end marine equipment. It will expand the construction of national-level marine projects such as deep-sea wind farms and cross-sea passages, and contribute to the high-quality development of marine engineering and the building of China into a maritime power.