The CHNL Information Office says that Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (“Snow Dragon”) left the port of Shanghai on July 20, 2017, and set a course for the Arctic. Polar Research Institute of China that owns the icebreaker is going to collect data about climate changes in the North. On July 30, it entered the Chukchi Sea and passed the Northern Sea Route further to the north. Xue Long successfully copes with ice: its the speed on the way in high latitudes reached 11 knots.
Specifications:
Ice class: Arc 5;
Length: 167 m;
Beam: 22,6 m;
DWT: 8759;
GRT: 15 352;
Flag: China.