On March 30, 2022, BEI DIAO 996, the comprehensive test ship for deep-sea equipment, which was built by Bohai Shipyard Group Co., Ltd. for the CSSC No. 760 Research Institute, was completed to start its maiden voyage. BEI DIAO 996 is the current largest SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) test ship in China. It was designed by the CSSC No. 702 Research Institute and No. 701 Research Institute. China Classification Society (CCS) carried out the plan approval and classification survey for it.

The comprehensive test ship for deep-sea equipment is one of the important contents in the construction projects in China’s “12th Five-year Plan”. The ship was developed and manufactured independently by China, and has a total length 99.8 m, molded breadth 32 m and molded depth 13.2 m. The quantitative acoustic method was adopted for its design, and DC networking power was adopted for its propulsion. It has the dynamic positioning capability of DP-1 vessels, and is capable of sailing within the unrestricted navigation area other than the North and South Poles. It undertakes the deep-sea acoustic testing and the offshore test guarantee task for the deep-sea space station, and also has the functions of offshore tests, such as the offshore test functions of underwater sound equipment and electronic information network.

The building of BEI DIAO 996 was started on August 26, 2019, completed on March 23, 2022, and launched on March 20, 2022. Its building duration was 2 years and 7 months. During its building, considering its characteristics such as the novel design, high requirement of building precise, difficult construction and several technical difficulties, the project team of the CCS Qinhuangdao Branch ade full efforts in coordinating with the shipyard and the shipowner, and ensured strict quality assurance.

Additionally, the Branch participated in the project construction coordination meetings 12 times, and carried out the special technical training 6 times. It worked with the CCS Plan Approval Center, focusing on the technical problems including the control of the weight and gravity center and the propulsion with DC network power, in technical study and determination, and got through the technical bottlenecks of project construction, ensuring smooth project completion.