The writer is a science commentator
The Dong Fang Hong 3 is the world’s largest “silent” research ship, supposedly able to glide through water without disturbing fish swimming just 20 metres below it. Equipped with laboratories and the ability to lay sensors, the 103-metre vessel is owned and operated by the Ocean University of China and has spent the past two years mapping the ocean floor.
But, according to a Reuters analysis last month, the vessel — along with others — is collecting subterranean data that could confer a military advantage in the event of underwater warfare. Charting the subsea terrain could point to possible hiding places for submarines, as well as unmask underwater vessels operated by adversaries.
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