On the afternoon of April 1st, XMU’s 3000-ton scientific research vessel “Tan Kah Kee”, which was named after the founding father of Xiamen University, arrived back at its home port at the Xiamen Bay. The building of this ship commenced at the pier of Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited, the ship builder, on March 31, 2015 and thelaunching & ship-naming ceremony was held on May 8 the following year.

The vessel, designed by adopting foreign approaches and making meticulous modifications domestically, is the first of its kind in China withcomplete intellectual property rights owned by Xiamen university. It is the world's first research vessel installed with the ultra-clean aqueous sampling system as well as the high-performance acoustic equipment such as the multi-beam devices on its flippers, making it possible to see very clearly the environment and ecology under the sea.

The banner says, "I'm home!".

As an integrated laboratory on the sea, this vessel boasts diverse features and functions such as sampling, operating and analyzing, and enables long-distance data transmission, real-time & simultaneous observation and in-situ experiments with regard to such disciplines as hydrology, chemistry, biology, geology, geophysics and atmosphere etc. Other features include the electric & mute propulsion, the ability to cruse all the ice-free seas of the world, and the introduction of Det Norske Veritas Classification to cut down the noise so much so that the noise level of cruising is equivalent to an indoor meeting.

"Tan Kah Kee", once brought into service, is expected to gain solid support from the Malaysian Campus of XMU and add momentum to the advances of the marine education and research of XMU and the world. As a top-class vessel with comprehensive and advanced scientific research equipment and laboratories, “Tan Kah Kee” will not only conduce to China’s marine development, but will also become one of the major platforms of China for interdisciplinary and comprehensive researches far out at sea.

Edited by Long Jin, Guo Yanyan

Source:

http://news.xmu.edu.cn/22/f4/c1552a271092/page.htm?from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=0

http://coe.xmu.edu.cn:82/NewsShow.aspx?Id=13775&from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=0