This article was produced in partnership with CNN with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts was a fellow.
In June 2025, the Xiang Yang Hong 01, a chalky white vessel loaded with oceanographic equipment, cruised the Northwest Pacific until it reached a section of the seafloor rich in polymetallic nodules — potato-shaped rocks that contain valuable metals such as manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper. The ship zigzagged over the site, conducting research in the area miners could eventually exploit through deep-sea mining, a controversial industry that experts warn could irreparably harm marine ecosystems.
Since entering service in 2016, the Xiang Yang Hong 01, which translates as Facing the Red Sun 01, has gone on several deep-sea mining research expeditions in the Northwest Pacific. Yet, over the past five years, the Chinese state-owned ship spent far more time outside designated deep-sea mining exploration areas and logged extensive trips in militarily strategic waters. This vessel has also gone “dark” numerous times over the past five years, possibly disabling its automatic identification system (AIS) while operating in strategically sensitive ocean areas, according to New Zealand-based Starboard Maritime Intelligence.
“These gaps are significant,” Mark Douglas, an analyst for Starboard Maritime who is also in the New Zealand naval reserves, told Mongabay and CNN in an email. He said the Chinese ship “demonstrates a deliberate pattern of operating in sensitive areas, outside the view of traditional tracking systems.”
The result is a pattern that, experts say, shows the ship may be more interested in mining military intelligence than deep-sea minerals.
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not address questions about the activities of the Xiang Yang Hong 01 or the potential military uses of its oceanographic research vessels. In a statement to Mongabay and CNN, the ministry said, “Within the framework of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), China conducts activities in deep-sea exploration, scientific research, and environmental protection, assisting a host of developing countries in effectively strengthening their deep-sea capacity building. This is in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.” It added that China “highly values deep-sea environmental protection” […]
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