China is building the world’s largest military supply ship

Strategic milestone

China is apparently building supply giants

China is apparently building a supply ship that exceeds all previously known dimensions. It would be a strategic milestone for the Chinese navy.

An exceptionally large ship is taking shape at a shipyard in southern China. According to analysis of satellite images, it could be the largest naval supply ship in the world. This is reported by the US portal “The War Zone”, which specializes in military developments. Official information China does not yet exist – the assessments are based primarily on aerial photographs and analyzes by experts.

The ship will be built on the island of Longxue, southeast of the megacity of Guangzhou. According to “The War Zone”, satellite images from the provider Planet Labs show that the work has been going on since February at the latest. The shipyard is operated by COMEC, formerly known as Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) and a subsidiary of the state-owned company China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

The shipyard primarily builds large merchant ships such as tankers and freighters, but has recently also attracted attention with unusual military or dual-use ships.

According to the analysis of satellite images, the ship is around 270 meters long and around 37 meters wide at its widest point. At the bow there is a structure with a bridge and mast, at the stern there is another structure with exhaust chimneys. A large flight deck and a hangar are apparently being built there. A shipyard photo published by the CSSC in May and reported by the South China Morning Post shows a hangar with two openings.

The area between the two superstructures is particularly revealing: there are several pillar-like structures close to both sides of the fuselage. Such masts are typical of ships that provide fuel and supplies to other units on the high seas. Additional material could be transported via the flight deck and helicopter. The Jane’s specialist service classified the hull as wide and box-shaped in April – designed for volumes for fuel, supplies and ammunition, as is usual for large suppliers of carrier groups.

The structure of the ship is similar to the Type 901 that China’s navy already uses – but much larger. At around 240 meters long and almost 31 meters wide, the Type 901 is itself a large ship and, when fully loaded, displaces around 45,000 tons. It is unclear what armament the new building will receive for self-defense. The Type 901 has four 30-millimeter guns for close-range defense.