Xue Long 2

'Snow Dragon 2') is a Chinese icebreaking research vessel that entered service in 2019.

She follows the naming of Xue Long, China's first polar research vessel.

[3] The 5 million euro[4] design contract for China's first domestically-built polar research vessel was signed in 2012 with the Finnish engineering company Aker Arctic, though construction did not begin until December 2016.

[3] Xue Long 2 now in service both as a supply vessel for China's research facilities in the Arctic and Antarctic regions and as a research vessel, with capabilities for geological and biological experimentation and surveying.

[5] She has a diesel-electric propulsion system, with two 8-cylinder and two 12-cylinder engines, both Wärtsilä 32-series designs,[6] powering two 7.5 MW Azipod propulsion units that give her a speed of up to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) in open water and 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) when breaking 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) ice.