in a significant show of Arctic prowess, China has dispatched five icebreaking research vessels to the region. This is the first time the country has operated more than three icebreaking vessels in the Arctic simultaneously.
The flotilla is led by China’s largest domestically-built icebreaker 
Xue Long 2 (雪龙 2 号). The Polar Class 3 vessel departed from Shanghai on July 5. It has since been operating in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas adjacent to Alaska and Russia. Its ultimate destination is not currently known. Last summer the vessel concluded its Arctic sailing with a port visit to Russia’s largest Arctic city Murmansk. Both the US Coast Guard and Canadian military have shadowed Xue Long 2’s activities in recent weeks.
Xue Long 2 was joined in the Arctic on July 30 by Shen Hai Yi Hao (深海一号), an ice-class research vessel specialized on ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) and AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) owned by China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA). It carries the submersible Jiao Long (蛟龙) designed for dives down to 7,000 meters. Shen Hai Yi Hao departed from Qingdao on July 16 and is currently operating in proximity of Xue Long 2 to the northwest of Alaska at the edge of Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
The Ji Di (极地号) icebreaking research vessel has also reached Arctic waters operating in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. The vessel entered service last year for China’s State Oceanic Administration. Ji Di departed from Qingdao days after Shen Hai Yi Hao on July 21. Based on information from its AIS signal, its destination could be Arctic Bay in Canada.
A fourth ice-class vessel, Zhongshandaxue Ji Di (中山大学极地号), set course for the Arctic from China’s southern port of Nansha on July 16. Previously operated by Canada and then Russia, the 42 year-old vessel was acquired by Sun Yat-sen University in 2021. The vessel has passed through the Bering Strait and has entered the Arctic Ocean to the west of Alaska.
China’s newest icebreaking vessel Tan Suo San Hao (探索三号) is currently operating in the northern Bering Sea and is about to enter Arctic waters.
On Aug 5, a C-130J Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak responded to Ji Di and Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di. Both vessels were transiting northeast in the Bering Sea.
On Aug 6, the crew of US Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) again responded to Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di as it was transiting north in the Chukchi Sea above the Arctic Circle, after passing through the Bering Strait.
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Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
July 25: the US Coast Guard detected and responded to the China-flagged research ship Xue Long 2 (雪龙 2 号), an icebreaker operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, on the US Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) in the US Arctic, ~290 NM north of Utqiagvik, Alaska and
Show more Xue Long 2 (雪龙 2 号), an icebreaker operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, on the US Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) in the US Arctic, ~290 NM north of Utqiagvik, Alaska and