BEIJING — China's new manned submersible finished the first ocean expedition of its operation stage, according to Science and Technology Daily.

The manned submersible, Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior), can reach a depth of 4,500 meters.

It conducted 17 dives in 17 days during the expedition, with more than an average eight hours in water per dive, the newspaper said. This included four continuous dives within 52 hours.

In October 2017, the submersible was loaded on board the ship Tansuo-1 to carry out its first deep sea testing mission off the shore of Sanya in southern China's Hainan province.

The development of the submersible took eight years and involved over 90 Chinese organizations and companies.

The submersible will make more than 30 dives in the South China Sea and southwest Indian Ocean.