Xue Long

Xue Long (simplified Chinese: 雪龙; traditional Chinese: 雪龍; pinyin: Xuě Lóng; lit. 'Snow Dragon', shway-lung) is a Chinese icebreaking research vessel. Built in 1993 at Kherson Shipyard in Ukraine, she was converted from an Arctic cargo ship to a polar research and re-supply vessel by Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding of Shanghai by the mid-1990s. The vessel was extensively upgraded in 2007 and 2013.

Until 2019, Xue Long was the only Chinese icebreaking research ship in service. A second Chinese polar icebreaker named Xue Long 2, slightly smaller but more capable, entered service in July 2019.^{[citation needed]}

Built at the Kherson Shipyard in Ukraine, Xue Long started her life as a Project 10621 icebreaking cargo and supply ship designed for the Russian Arctic. She was purchased by the People's Republic of China when the vessel's technical readiness level was 83% and completed as a polar research and re-supply vessel in 1994. In 2007, the ship was extensively upgraded to extend her service life by another 15 years. During the mid-life refit, the ship received a new superstructure that considerably changed her external appearance. She received another technical update in 2013 which included replacing her main engine.

Xue Long is 167 metres (548 ft) long and has a beam of 22.6 metres (74 ft). When loaded to a draft of 9 metres (30 ft), she has a displacement of 21,025 tons. The ship was originally powered by a single 8-cylinder BMZ 8DKRN60/195 low-speed, two-stroke diesel engine, a licence-built version of B&W 8L60MC, producing 13,200 kW (17,700 hp). During the 2013 refit, the main engine was replaced with an equally powered Wärtsilä 6RT-flex60C diesel engine. The main engine is coupled to a ducted controllable-pitch propeller. In open water, Xue Long can achieve a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) while in 1.1-metre (3.6 ft) ice she can proceed at 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h; 1.7 mph). Originally designed for the Soviet Arctic ice class ULA, the China Classification Society (CCS) has assigned her ice class B1*.

Xue Long has a crew of 34 and can accommodate 128 researchers or passengers. She has 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft) of laboratory space. In addition to a Kamov Ka-32 "Xueying" (Snow Eagle) helicopter, the ship also carries an Arctic-class ARV autonomous underwater vehicle on a regular basis.

Xue Long unexpectedly arrived in 1999 at the small Canadian coastal village of Tuktoyaktuk, on the Arctic Ocean.

The inability of the Canadian authorities to track the vessel stirred enough controversy that the incident is still being cited as evidence of Canadian unpreparedness to defend its northern sovereignty.

The ship undertook a second Arctic expedition from 15 July to 26 September 2003. More recently the ship had been used in connection with China's efforts to maintain a scientific presence in the Antarctic.