(cctv.com)
Updated: 2007-12-22 10:32

 

The country's biggest and best-preserved sunken ship, the Nanhai One, is scheduled to be lifted out of the sea on Saturday.

Discovered 2 decades ago, the Nanhai One has many rare and delicate antiques on board.

Maritime authorities will use the best equipment to lift the precious discovery out of the water.

A China-made craning ship, the biggest in Asia, has been dispatched for the task. After the Nanhai One is lifted, an underwater carrier will be placed beneath it for support.

Authorities want to retrieve the Nanhai One because it is in good condition and carries many rare hand-crafts worth preserving.

Wang Renyi, Deputy director of Nanhai One Project, said, "The arrival of the craning ship marks the beginning of our work to take Nanhai One out of the sea. Now we are binding cables to the sunk ship."

The Nanhai One sank in the South China Sea 800 years ago, not far from the current Guangdong Province. It was discovered in 1987 and now lies 20 meters beneath the waters' surface.

It carried thousands of porcelain, iron and bronze hand-crafts. The biggest salvage was carried out in 2002, when over 4 thousand pieces were retrieved.