The oceanographic research ship Zhu Kezhen is pictured during its search mission for MH370 on the Indian Ocean in this May 9, 2014 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUAYAQUIL - The oceanographic research ship Zhu Kezhen of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on a mission of global voyage made a call at Guayaquil Port on Sunday for a five-day goodwill visit to Ecuador.

The visit of Zhu Kezhen, the latest oceanographic research ship designed and built independently by China, to the South American country of Ecuador comes as this year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On behalf of the China's hydrographic bureau, ship Zhu Kezhen paid its first friendly visit to Ecuador, a member state of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). It is also the fourth time for the Chinese navy to come to Ecuador.

During its stay in Guayaquil, Ecuador's biggest city, the Chinese naval research ship will be open to public visit, hold a deck reception and organize other academic and cultural exchange activities with the Ecuadorian side.

According to Captain Lv Jiedong, deputy commander of a combat support ship flotilla under the PLA's East China Sea Fleet, the Zhu Kezhen, named after a prominent Chinese meteorologist, geologist and educator, will spend six months on the global voyage while paying visits to foreign countries.

Before coming to the Guayaquil Port, the Chinese naval oceanographic research ship has called at the Louis Port in Mauritius, Port of Cape Town in South Africa and Salvador Port in Brazil. After the stop in Ecuador, Zhu Kezhen will continue its global voyage and go back to China in early August.