Xue Long 2


Xue Long 2 is a Chinese icebreaking research vessel that entered service in 2019. She follows the naming of, China's first polar research vessel.

History

The 5 million euro design contract for China's first domestically-built polar research vessel was signed in 2012 with the Finnish engineering company Aker Arctic, though construction did not begin until December 2016. She was built at Jiangnan Shipyard.
Xue Long 2 now in service both as a supply vessel for China's research facilities in the Arctic and Antarctic regions and as a research vessel, with capabilities for geological and biological experimentation and surveying.
On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard spotted Xue Long 2 about 290 nautical miles north of Utqiagvik, Alaska, 130 nautical miles inside the U.S.'s extended continental shelf.

Design

Xue Long 2 measures long, with a beam of and a draft of at full load. She has a displacement of 14,300 tonnes. She has a diesel-electric propulsion system, with two 8-cylinder and two 12-cylinder engines, both Wärtsilä 32-series designs, powering two 7.5 MW Azipod propulsion units that give her a speed of up to in open water and when breaking ice. Her ice class is Polar Class 3 and she is able to break ice while traveling either ahead or astern.