ZHUHAI: The arrival of
two massive rescue helicopters in Zhuhai yesterday significantly
strengthens maritime rescue and salvage operations on the South
China Sea, a senior government official said at the delivery
ceremony.
Song Jiahui, director
general of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau, discussed the
government's plan to create a three-dimensional offshore
rescue-and-salvage system.
"We will continue to
invest in new helicopters to take full advantage of the modern tool
to save people's lives," he said. "There is, without a doubt, no
equal to the helicopter, which plays an essential part in ensuring
citizens' safety in times of disaster relief." The Ministry of
Communications, which oversees the Rescue and Salvage Bureau,
ordered the two EC-225 helicopters last year from Eurocopter - the
world's largest helicopter manufacturer - at a cost of $25 million
each. They weigh more than 10 tons each and are significantly
larger than medium-sized helicopters currently used by the bureau,
according to Eurocopter Senior Executive Vice President Philippe
Harache. The E-225's are also twice as expensive.
The two additions
strengthen the ministry's existing fleet of 10 helicopters and one
fixed-wing aircraft that serve the First Flying Team of South China
Sea, one of China's three air services for maritime
rescue.
According to the bureau,
the helicopter fleet has flown 518 successful missions and saved
548 lives since the service began in early 2003.
The EC-225 boasts
advanced flight controls and autopilot systems, and is capable of
search and rescue missions in the worst weather, day or night,
Harache said.
With a 40-year market
presence in China, Eurocopter expects demand to grow to an all-time
high, particularly because the Chinese government wants to increase
its public-service capabilities, and because of the booming energy
and oil-exploration industries, Harache told China
Daily.
Eurocopter is expected
to sell 300 helicopters in China by 2015, compared with just 120
orders taken there during the past 40 years, he said.
Eurocopter has more than
a 45 percent share in the Chinese civil-helicopter market. In 2006,
the company did more than $150 million worth of business on the
Chinese mainland, according to Eurocopter figures.
Amid growing demand for
quality helicopters, Eurocopter officials are talking with a Zhuhai
company in South China's Guangdong Province about the possibility
of opening a pilot-training school. And an agreement may be reached
by March, Harache said.
(China Daily
December 19, 2007)