China’s maritime rescue authorities have expanded deep-sea search and rescue operations beyond 4,000 metres (13,100 feet), state media reported. The body responsible for the South China Sea completed a ‘formal transition’ after extensive deepwater training. People’s Daily credited the advance to hi-tech equipment.
China’s maritime rescue authorities have expanded their ability to conduct deep-sea search and rescue operations beyond 4,000 metres (13,100 feet), according to state media. People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, described the shift as “marking the formal transition of China’s transport rescue and salvage forces” to practical operations at such depths. The Nanhai Rescue Bureau, responsible for the strategically sensitive South China Sea, completed this after extensive deepwater training.
Hi-tech equipment drove the upgrade, including underwater drones and deep-towed systems—typically equipped with sonar or cameras—that can operate up to 6,000 metres.
The bureau told People’s Daily: “Particularly in deep and remote waters exceeding 100 metres in depth, traditional search methods such as diver-led probes are difficult to carry out efficiently, significantly increasing search and rescue risks.”
Official Chinese data shows the South China Sea has an average depth of 1,212 metres and a maximum of 5,559 metres. China has been upgrading its operations as it extends maritime presence into deeper and more distant seas.
