China's unmanned weather-observation vessel starts long-duration voyage

BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A China-made unmanned ship for cloud and sea-fog observation has embarked on its first long-duration voyage in the Yellow Sea, covering a distance of 110 nautical miles so far.

The vessel sailed from a port in east China's Jiangsu Province, operating continuously for 16 hours at sea, gathering three-dimensional fog and cloud data in the process.

The successful launch demonstrates that the vessel is able to conduct large-scale meteorological and hydrological observations at sea, the China Meteorological Administration said on Tuesday.

Current sea-fog observation stations in China are located near the coast, with detection ranges of only a few kilometers. However, the unmanned ship can expand the observation range to 180 nautical miles (330 km) from the coast.

According to the administration, the unmanned ship can also carry out collaborative operations with meteorological satellites and shore-based radars, enlarging the observation area and improving accuracy.