Chinese survey ship off Batanes mapping seafloor?

Chinese survey ship Bei Diao 996 is shown conducting a lawnmower pattern off Batanes since September 3, 2025. — Photo courtesy of Sealight

MANILA, Philippines — To the untrained eye, a Chinese survey ship spotted off Batanes appeared to be mimicking the movements of a snake in a video game played on old mobile phones.

SeaLight director and maritime security expert Ray Powell, however, said on Tuesday that Bei Diao 996, which has been in the area since Sept. 3, was conducting an “intrusive” survey in a “lawnmower pattern” based on SeaLight’s image track.

A ship conducts a lawnmower or grid pattern when it conducts a bathymetric survey to map the seafloor, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

The 100-meter-long survey ship joined two other Chinese survey ships—Dong Fang Hong 3 and Zhi Hai—which are still in the country’s exclusive economic zone near Batanes province as of Tuesday.

Powell said Dong Fang Hong 3 “has been all over” since it left Hainan on Aug. 16, while Zhi Hai has turned off its automatic identification system, which has made it difficult to monitor its track.

READ: Chinese survey ship ‘playing snake game’ near Batanes

Last month, three armed China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels were seen “bracketing” Batanes, which Powell described as unprecedented, saying, “I almost never see the CCG near Batanes.”