Beijing approves construction of first South China Sea deepwater ‘space station’

Scientists will be able to work for up to a month in the facility that will be anchored 2,000 metres below the surface

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China’s cold seep ecosystem research facility is expected to be operational by around 2030. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00am, 13 Feb 2025

After years of debate and technical reviews, China has given the green light to a deep-sea research facility that could redefine marine exploration, while amplifying Beijing’s geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most resource-rich areas.

The “cold seep” ecosystem research facility will be anchored 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface of the strategically significant South China Sea, which is also subject to a number of competing territorial claims.

The facility – one of the deepest and most technologically complex underwater installations ever attempted – is scheduled to be operational by around 2030, with room for six scientists on missions that will last as long as a month.

The planned facility – which is known among the research community as a deep-sea space station – will be used to study cold seep ecosystems – the methane-rich hydrothermal vents that teem with unique lifeforms and contain vast deposits of methane hydrates, also known as flammable ice.

Details of the station’s design were revealed this month by researcher Yin Jianping, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, and his colleagues, writing in the journal Manufacturing and Upgrading Today.

Pioneering features include the long-term life support system that will be needed if scientists are to build and operate a permanent monitoring network to track methane fluxes, as well as ecological shifts and tectonic activity.