China has started its first deep-water saturation dive test. The mission aims to reach a depth of 300 meters in the waters off Shenzhen, in south China.

The Shanghai Salvage Company, under the Ministry of Transport, is leading the project. Six divers from the company are scheduled to begin their mission on January 12th. They will stay below the surface for about 17 days, and live in an underwater compression chamber during that time. On Thursday afternoon, in preparation, they began pressurizing the chamber.

Saturation diving was developed to allow divers to stay underwater for a longer time and at deeper sea levels with a lower risk of decompression sickness, also known as "the bends". It is commonly used in deep sea exploration, rescue mission, and construction projects.