中国近日移动钻井平台不会引起波澜

The movement of at least four Chinese drilling rigs in the South China Sea in the last couple of days isn't necessarily alarming given the frequency of rig movement in the region in the past. The rigs' locations are also nowhere near disputed waters, and there are no accompanying coast guard vessels for these rigs.

过去几天至少四个中国钻井平台在南中国海(South China Sea, 中国称南海)移动的情况并不一定会引发担忧，因为过去该海域的钻井平台移动活动比较频繁。这些钻井平台的位置也并不靠近争议海域，而且没有海巡船随行。

China's Maritime Safety Administration said in a notice Wednesday on its website that it was towing the Nan Hai Jiu Hao, or Nan Hai No. 9, drilling platform slightly closer to the Vietnamese coast but outside disputed waters.

中国海事局周三在其网站上发布通知称，“德 ”轮拖带“南海九号”钻井平台向越南海岸略微移动，但位于两国争议海域以外。

Then it notified the movement of three other rigs, the Nan Hai No. 2, 4 and 5 in the same vicinity.

中国海事局随后又发通知称，另外三个钻井平台――“南海二号”、“南海四号”和“南海五号”也被拖动至相近位置。

These vessels were already in the South China Sea off China's southern coast, along with several others, and are not being newly deployed in that region.

这些钻井平台和其他一些钻井平台此前一直位于中国南部沿海的南中国海海域，并不是中国在该海域新部署的钻井平台。

Data from consulting firm IHS shows that China has 16 drilling rigs in that portion of the South China Sea, most of which are small jack-up rigs, and four are semi-submersible rigs.

咨询公司IHS提供的数据显示，中国在南中国海的上述区域拥有16个钻井平台，其中大部分为小型自升式钻井平台，有四个为半潜式钻井平台。

'The rig movement in itself doesn't seem massively controversial. It's too early to draw any conclusion that China is using the rigs as chess pieces against the Vietnamese,' Gary Li, senior maritime analyst at IHS said.

IHS的高级海事分析师Gary Li称，钻井平台的移动本身似乎并不具有很大争议，现在下结论说中国利用钻井平台作为对抗越方的棋子还为时过早。

He also said currently satellite trackers are not picking up any coast guard escorts for the newly moved rigs, while the waters around the controversial HYSY981 are practically crawling with coast guard and other Chinese vessels such as patrol boats, offshore support vessels, tugs and fishing boats.

他还表示，目前卫星追踪器并未发现中方有任何海警为新移动的钻井平台护航，而备受争议的“海洋石油981号”钻井平台周边海域几乎到处都是中国海警船以及海巡船、海上支援船、拖船和渔船等其他中方船只。

Only two of China's rigs are large semi-submersibles with a gross tonnage of around 21,000. One of these is the HYSY981 that was deployed in disputed waters by China in early May. The other is the Nan Hai No. 9 that was moved earlier this week.

在上述16个中国钻井平台中，只有两个为大型半潜式钻井平台，总吨位约21,000吨。其中一个就是5月初中国在争议水域部署的“海洋石油981号”，另一个是本周早些时候移动的“南海九号”。

The Nan Hai No. 2 and No. 5 are smaller semi-submersible rigs, while the Nan Hai No. 4 a jack-up rig.

“南海二号”和“南海五号”是小型半潜式钻井平台，而“南海四号”是自升式钻井平台。

The major difference between jack-up rigs and semi-submersibles is that the smaller jack-up rigs cannot be deployed for deepwater exploration, in depths of more than 400-500 feet of water.

自升式与半潜式的主要区别是，小型自升式钻井平台无法用于水深超过400-500英尺（约122-152米）的深水区域勘探。

The Nan Hai No. 2, 4 and 5 are fairly distant from the disputed areas, much closer to Hong Kong actually, and their movements were announced by the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, which is different from the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration, which is in charge of the disputed waters.

“南海二号”、“南海四号”和“南海五号”离争议海域较远，实际上离香港更近，这些 井平台的移动消息是由广东海事局宣布的，而不是管辖争议海域的海南海事局。

The HYSY981 is the only Chinese rig actually in contested waters around 150-160 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam.

“海洋石油981号”事实上是中国在争议海域部署的唯一钻井平台，该海域距离越南海岸线150-160海里。