China's ultra-deepwater drilling ship enters phase of equipment testing, internal installation

The construction of China's first homegrown ultra-deepwater drilling ship "Mengxiang" (Dream) has entered the phase of equipment testing and installation of the internal laboratory, with full completion expected by the end of this year, according to the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The drilling ship, weighing 33,000 tons, can operate continuously at sea for 120 days with a full crew of 180 members and travel up to 15,000 nautical miles.

With 1.2 million meters of cable installed, the ship will also realize intelligent coordination with ground teams.

"Mengxiang" stands out as the only drilling ship worldwide with the capacity to drill to the depth of 11,000 meters.

"We call the ship the 'mobile laboratory on marine science'. It can collect and analyze data on marine sectors. Where do the data come from? They come from the ship's drilling rig, which collects core samples from the deep sea and sends them to the ship. After that, scientists can analyze them together and draw scientific conclusions," said Zhou Chang, a senior manager of the "Mengxiang" project from the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The ship boasts a onboard laboratory of 3,000 square meters, with nine labs for basic geology, microbiology, marine science and more.

The ship is set to undergo its final trial voyage in the latter half of this year and be delivered for use before the end of 2024.

China's ultra-deepwater drilling ship enters phase of equipment testing, internal installation

The growth in the Asia-Pacific region will moderate to 4.5 percent this year from the outperformed 5 percent in 2023, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its "Regional Economic Outlook Asia and Pacific" launched in Singapore Tuesday.

Asia-Pacific is expected to remain the most dynamic region across the world, contributing about 60 percent of global growth in 2024, the report noted.

The region embraces diverse growth drivers, from resilient domestic consumption in most ASEAN countries to a sharp uptick in tourism in the Pacific Island countries, IMF said.

Near-term risks are now broadly balanced. Retreating inflation and the prospect of earlier monetary easing have increased the likelihood of a soft landing, IMF said.

Stronger-than-expected growth in Europe and the United States will bring growth to Asia's exporters while increased geo-economic fragmentation and geopolitical tensions continue to pose serious downside risks to medium-term growth in the region, it added.

Central banks should ensure that inflation returns smoothly to target, and policymakers should avoid making decisions overly dependent on anticipated interest rate moves by the Federal Reserve, IMF noted.

Asia-Pacific economy to grow at 4.5 pct in 2024: IMF