China's largest fishery administration vessel arrived in the Xisha Islands around noon, officials on the islands said on Tuesday.
The vessel, China Yuzheng 311, has anchored in Yongxing island, a major one of the islands, and will patrol the South China Sea. It had made a week-long voyage from its home port in Guangzhou.
The vessel stopped in a naval base in Sanya on the southern Hainan Province last Thursday for supply and set sail for the islands which are about 180 nautical miles southeast of Hainan.
However, the vessel encountered storm and bad weather which delayed its arrival in the islands that had been expected to be on Sunday, the vessel's captain told Xinhua.
The ship is the largest of its kind with a maximum displacement of 4,450 tonnes and will be mainly used to patrol waters of China's exclusive economic zones including Nansha, Xisha and Zhongsha Islands. It was converted from a rescue vessel of Chinese navy.
Wu Zhuang, director of Administration of Fishery and Fishing Harbor Supervision for South China Sea, said the vessel will take part in fishing vessels escort at Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands where fishing illegalities of neighbouring countries in the sea are rising.
(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2009)