QINGDAO, March 13 -- China's most sophisticated research vessel Kexue ("Science") ended its second expedition to the west Pacific on Friday and returned to the city of Qingdao in Shandong Province.

Kexue's two expeditions to the Yap Seamount sea area started in early December and took 101 days in total.

About 120 seamount animals were collected from depths of between 260 meters and 2,000 meters, along with a large number of rock samples.

All the samples were taken to the Chinese Academy of Sciences institute of oceanology, said Li Tiegang, deputy head of the institute.

The Yap Seamount is rich in mineral resources and ecological diversity.

With a gross tonnage of 4,711, Kexue is 100 meters long and 17.8 meters wide. With a cruising capacity of 15,000 nautical miles and a top speed of 15 knots, it can travel with a crew of 80 for 60 days.