QINGDAO -- China's expedition ship "Xiangyanghong 01" returned to Qingdao Port Friday afternoon after its maiden scientific research trip to the Indian Ocean.

The ship left the port in eastern China's Shandong Province on Oct. 19 with about 80 researchers and more than 40 sets of equipment. It sailed 13,000 plus nautical miles in 73 days.

According to Liu Lin, chief scientist of the expedition, they gained first-hand physical, chemical, biological and meteorological data from the southern part of the Indian Ocean.

Before the journey Liu told Xinhua that they would study monsoons in the Indian Ocean and the impact of air-sea exchanges on East Asian climate change.

"Xiangyanghong 01" was commissioned in June. It is a new-generation ocean-going expedition ship, with a displacement of 4,980 tonnes and a range of 15,000 nautical miles.