China's scientific research ship Exploration 2 returned to port on Monday, after completing a sea test of a deep-sea in-situ laboratory in the South China Sea. 

The voyage was organized by Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and is aimed at verifying the underwater performance and operation reliability of the deep-sea in-situ scientific experiment station designed by CAS. 

The sea tests have confirmed the operability for the main functions of the deep-sea base station, and verified the capability of the system control, energy management and communication system, according to Chen Jun, an associate research fellow of Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering of CAS. 

"The whole system operated on a stable basis for seven days at a seafloor depth of more than 1,400 meters,” Chen said. 

The deep-sea in-situ scientific experiment station represents new scientific equipment based on modular design and deep-sea base station which enables long-term in-situ experiments and continuous scientific operation on the seabed while allowing for information exchange between the scientific experiment station and control center. (Global Times)