If weather permits, China's manned deep-sea submersible, Jiaolong, is expected to launch its second dive mission on Tuesday, said Xu Qinan, the vehicle's chief designer.

Due to a leaking pipe detected in the submersible on Monday morning, the diving team canceled the scheduled dive on Monday afternoon.

"The problem is not serious, and changing the leaking pipe will solve it," Xu told China Daily in a telephone interview, adding that changing the pipe would take two to three hours.