SHANGHAI: Days before China's first and only polar exploration vessel sets out on its latest mission, the country announced plans to build a second such ship, which will hit the icy waters by 2012.

The idea was unveiled before Snow Dragon sets out on Sunday for China's 26th South Pole expedition.

Zhang Xia, an expert with the Polar Research Institute of China, said China's dependence on a single ship for polar exploration work has been a weakness in the country's polar exploration capacity.