China’s new icebreaker Snow Dragon II ready for Antarctica voyage later this year

China’s first home-made icebreaker has been delivered and is expected to make its maiden voyage to Antarctica later this year, in the latest expansion of Beijing’s influence in the resource-rich polar regions.The 13,996-tonne Xuelong 2 – or Snow Dragon II – was handed over to the Polar Research Institute of China, part of the natural resources ministry, in Shanghai on Thursday, after sailing through its final 16-day trial last month in the East China Sea.Qin Weijia, director in charge of polar… ......