The Chinese-built new-generation icebreaking research vessel Jidi has started to execute its first sea ice research mission in the Liaodong Bay sea ice area in the Bohai Sea off the northern coast of China, aiming to study sea ice development, improve marine weather forecasting, and launch a series of scientific exploration and research in various fields.

Constructed and launched in 2024, Jidi, which literally means "Polar Region", is approximately 90 meters long and 17.8 meters wide, with a displacement tonnage of 4,600 tonnes, and a navigation capability of 14,000 nautical miles.

The icebreaking research vessel's current mission in the Liaodong Bay is the first of its kind in the Bohai Sea featuring comprehensive winter marine scientific research involving multiple research institutes and universities across China, covering multi-element centralized observation and timed navigation observation and multiple professional research orientations such as sea ice observation and remote sensing technology research.

"The research team consists of 20 members from 12 academic institutions in China, and our survey focuses include hydrology, meteorology, biology, chemistry, ice surface spectroscopy, atmospheric chemistry, and other factors such as the spotted seal," said Li Ke, director of the Sea Ice and Climate Forecast Division at the Ministry of Natural Resources' North Sea Forecast and Disaster Relief Center, who is also part of the research team.

The Liaodong Bay comprehensive research spans a wide range of fields from aerospace to seabed studies, and the results are expected to provide reference to ice-season navigation, off-shore oil and gas platform operation against extreme weather, ecological research, among other applications.