August 7, 2006
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

The Deep-Sea Drilling Vessel Chikyu Test Drilling off the Shimokita Peninsula
-Departed Hachinohe Port and began test drilling-

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Yasuhiro Kato, President) is pleased to announce that the Chikyu has departed Hachinohe Port, Aomori Prefecture, Japan on August 6, 2006 at 18:20, and arrived at the test site east offing of the Shimokita Peninsula (100 kilometer north east off Hachinohe City) early in the morning on 7th and began system integration tests including deep-sea drilling test. The Chikyu will conduct its first riser drilling as well as targeting to 2,200 meter below the sea floor, the deepest scientific drilling depths through the sea floor ever recorded in the history.

Major training schedules:
Aug 7 - Aug 20: Preparation of the riser drilling (drilling depth of 520 meter below the sea floor, core sampling tests, running BOP and others)
Late August: Testing the emergency disconnect sequence (EDS) for the riser and BOP
Early September: Test operation of core sampling systems
Late September: Reach drilled depth of 2,200 meters below the sea floor

Contacts:
(For Chikyu)
Mr. Jun Fukutomi, e-mail: cdex@jamstec.go.jp
International and Research Support
The Center for Deep Earth Exploration (CDEX)
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

(For Publication)
Mr. Shinji Oshima, e-mail: press@jamstec.go.jp
Manager, Planning Department Press Office
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
See appendix A for the site map