China building mobile landing platform, new ro-ro PLA support ship

[sherkhan]

Airbus DS satellite imagery published by Google Earth dated 15 April shows a semi-submersible ship nearing completion at the Wenchong shipyard in Guangzhou, China. (Google Earth/Airbus DS CNES 2015)
The appearance online in late May of photographs of a semi-submersible ship, painted in a naval grey colour scheme, nearing completion at the Wenchong shipyard in Guangzhou has prompted speculation that China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is about to acquire a mobile landing platform (MLP).

A semi-submersible ship nearing completion at the Wenchong shipyard in Guangzhou. The ship is around 180 m in length, with a beam of around 33 m and an estimated displacement of 5,000 tonnes. (via Sina.com)

The ship is around 180 m in length, with a beam of around 33 m and an estimated displacement of 5,000 tonnes. As such, it is much smaller than the US Military Sealift Command's Montford Point class of MLPs, which are 240 m long with a beam of 50 m.

Other recent photographs show a logistics support ship under construction for the PLA. This is the second vessel with a roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) design, bow and stern ramps, and an estimated full load displacement of around 3,500 tonnes.

The first of these emerged in late 2013, and it is likely the second is being built at the same shipyard: Dalian Songliao.

Recent photographs published online show a logistics support ship under construction for the PLA. (via Sina.com)

 

[shiphone]

"mobile landing platform (MLP)" of USN...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Landing_Platform

The Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) is a type of amphibious assault ship being constructed for the United States Navy, with the first ship due to enter service in 2013. MLP ships are to serve as floating bases for amphibious operations, and operate as a transfer point between large ships and small landing craft.

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so called China built mobile landing platform has just been commissioned... it is a much smaller vessel comparing with USN MLP...but it's not as small as claimed as 5000 tons...LOL... more than 20000 tons class should be more realistic (MLP's full displacement: >60000 tons)

the first job was to transport the one of the two China built Zubr class Landing Craft and it seems it could work well with the Zubr in the combat scenario similar to role of USN MLP...

 

[Hari Sud]

Do not believe everything which China's media and their interests want you believe.

1. In their tests they have hit a stationary aircraft carrier with a missile but not a moving one with capability to shoot the missile

2. Their nuclear submarine force is intimidating but has not gone into the deep. If they can only go thru the coastal waters then these are easy targets.

3. Their one aircraft carrier purchased from Russia is still docks, something is amiss here. The newer one they are building with stolen technology are having trouble to reach optimum production level. No help is available, hence these are sitting ducks in the ports.

4. Those stealth fighter will never see a fight as system integration of stolen technologies is a big problem. To convince the western observers, they send them on flight mission often and then publish the flight as news item.

THunk before you begin to fall into Chinese propaganda trap.

 

[J20!]

"mobile landing platform (MLP)" of USN...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Landing_Platform

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so called China built mobile landing platform has just been commissioned... it is a much smaller vessel comparing with USN MLP...but it's not as small as claimed as 5000 tons...LOL... more than 20000 tons class should be more realistic (MLP's full displacement: >60000 tons)

the first job was to transport the one of the two China built Zubr class Landing Craft and it seems it could work well with the Zubr in the combat scenario similar to role of USN MLP...

Nice pics.

Quick question shiphone...

The US MLP is built to transport and launch LCAC's at sea while underway. The Chinese vessel on the other hand looks more like the heavy-lift ships that transported the first Zubr's from Ukraine to China. It even carries one large life boat as do commercial heavy lift ships.

Is this a millitarized commercial heavy lift ship built to transport Zubr's from point A to point B? Or a military designed ship built to launch and recover Zubr's at sea ala the US Navy MLP?

 

[shiphone]

this ship reminds us of this:

http://cn.zpmc.com/www/51/2009-07/123.html

ZPMC is the largest heavy-duty equipment manufacturer in the world and owns 26 transportation ships of capacity from 60,000 DWT to 100,000 DWT, delivering the products all over the world.

this Shanghai based company owns her transportation ship fleet to ship the products all over the world...most of them are similar to this PLAN ship.

although all these ship looks alike but there are two different types : the normal low freeboard transportation ship

and specially made semi-submerged ship...

we don't know whether it is a semi-submerged ship or not...if it is, I would believe it might can function as the MLP besides the transportation, if not, it might be a special transportation ship only...

pay a little attention to the two huge crane on port and starboard,.. it could easily handle the transfer bridge between the Transportation vessel/ship and this ship if it could function as the floating port/landing platform..
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It even carries one large life boat as do commercial heavy lift ships.

normally such ships are converted from the normal commercial cargo ships or oil ships. and we thought this ship might be an abandoned ship by the foreign shipowner (Italian) before the hand-over due to the current economic situation... so it might be taken over by the navy then after..in this case ,shipowner had to give up the deposit, the shipyard might cut the loss via selling it to the PLAN after the refit, and the Navy got something interesting...

the heavy-lift ships that transported the first Zubr's from Ukraine to China.

the Zubr on it is the third one manufactured in china, the journey is barely dozens of nautical miles between two plants of the same shipyard...the first two built in Ukraine have been shipped by the normal commercial cargo ship years ago...

 

[shiphone]

the <Naval & Merchant Ship>--- Aug issue of 2015...

Pennant number : PLAN 868