(Yicai Global) July 18 -- A unit of China's rail transit giant CRRC has released the burliest unmanned underwater vehicle on the planet, able to lift up to four tons of goods and pick up a needle in water.

CRRC SMD Shanghai unveiled the powerful remotely operated vehicle yesterday, state-backed The Paper reported. This is the first deep-sea equipment developed by CRRC after its acquisition of British SMD, an expert in the field, in 2015.

The heavy-duty ROV is the first commercial deep-sea robot in China, said Chen Jian, vice general manager of another of the firm's units, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric. A smaller version of the product will be put into mass production in future, Chen added.

The ROV has a 250-horsepower engine, equivalent to that of a BMW X6. The submersible can explore as deep as in 3,000 meters and achieve a precision of a few millimeters.

Editor: Emmi Laine