Project targets ocean’s deepest point

Nov 6, 2017 by Triton Staff

Finnish foundry Tevo Lokomo Ltd. has joined forces with a Chinese scientific research company to explore the deepest spot in the ocean – the Marianas Trench.

One goal of the project, to be conducted by the Rainbow Deepsea Equipment & Technology Co. of China, is to explore a new point that has been measured to be the deepest spot in the world.

A manned submersible cabin casting for the project will be built of Tevo Lokomo steel at its foundry in Tampere, Finland. The cabin must be made to withstand the extreme pressures at depths of more than 36,000 feet, or 11,000m. Previous MIR submersibles made in 1987 for exploration of the trench had a maximum depth of 19,685 feet, or 6,000m.

Tevo Lokomo began working with the Chinese scientists in 2015 on material research and testing. That project was completed in April after successful pressure tests conducted at the Rainbowfish laboratory in Shanghai.

The multi-phase project will culminate in 2020, when a group of scientists will descend into the depths of the Marianas Trench and conduct scientific research work in areas previously untouched by humans. The venture also intends to break the depth record set by film director and explorer James Cameron.

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