Shanghai-based Chinese steelmaker Baoshan Iron and Steel Company Ltd. (Baosteel Ltd.) has received the letter of thanks from the world leading supplier of logistics and energy equipment, China International Marine Containers Co Ltd (CIMC) for supplying steel plate for drilling rig Blue Whale 1, which has been used in extracting natural gas hydrate (also called “combustible ice”) at sea. Accordingly, Baosteel Ltd. has supplied 40 percent of steel plate for the Blue Whale 1 drilling rig in Yantai, a port city of East China's Shandong Province. The successful drilling of combustible ice means China becomes the first country in the world that has mastered the natural gas hydrate mining technology, marking a milestone in safeguarding China’s energy security and optimizing energy structure.