Addis Ababa, March 17, 2026 (FMC) – Chinese engineers are working on the country’s first deep-sea tourism submersible, a project aimed at enabling passengers to travel to significant ocean depths. The initiative is being developed by the China Ship Scientific Research Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
After more than four years of research, specialists have finalised the structural design of the vessel and plan to complete a prototype by the end of this year. Once the model is ready, sea trials will be conducted to assess its performance and refine the design before further development stages. If the programme progresses as expected, the submersible could enter service before 2030.
The vessel is designed to reach depths of about 1,000 metres and will be able to accommodate four people, including three passengers, offering participants the opportunity to experience deep-sea exploration, TV BRICS reported, citing its Chinese media partner China Daily.
Engineers have already developed several key components for the future craft, including a panoramic viewport capable of withstanding the extreme pressure of deep waters. According to Ye Cong, director of the China Ship Scientific Research Center, tourism authorities and travel agencies have expressed interest in the project and are discussing potential cooperation with the research centre.
China has already accumulated extensive experience in deep-sea exploration. The country operates three manned submersibles for scientific missions which carried out more than 300 dives worldwide last year, accounting for over half of global crewed deep-sea expeditions, according to the expert. These capabilities continue to support both scientific research and the development of new marine technologies.