Type 081 transport ship

Type 081 transport ship is a type of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) since early 1970s. In addition to carrying cargos, Type 081 is also designed to carry some passengers as well. This class is derived from its unarmed sister ships in civilian service, which is a purely cargo version, not being able to carry passengers. These ships have received NATO reporting name as Hongqi (红旗, meaning Red Flag in Chinese) class.[1][2]

Not to be confused with Type 081 mine countermeasure vessel.
History
PRC
Name: Hong Qi
Namesake: Red Flag
Completed: Early 1970s
Acquired: Early 1970s
Commissioned: Early 1970s
Maiden voyage: Early 1970s
In service: Early 1970s onward
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,950 long tons (1,980 t)
Length: 62 m (203 ft 5 in)
Beam: 28 m (91 ft 10 in)
Draught: 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Propulsion: 1 x marine diesel engines, 1,300 hp (969 kW)
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range: 2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) @ 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement: 35
Armament: 2 x twin 25 mm (0.98 in)

Type 081 series ships in PLAN service are designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by three-digit number. The second Chinese character is Yun (运), meaning transport in Chinese, because these ships are classified as transport ship. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East (Dong, 东) for East Sea Fleet, North (Bei, 北) for North Sea Fleet, and South (Nan, 南) for South Sea Fleet. However, the pennant numbers may have changed due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention. A total of seven have been identified:[2]

Type Pennant # Status Fleet
081 Bei-Yun 443 Active North Sea Fleet
081 Bei-Yun 528 Active North Sea Fleet
081 Dong-Yun 577 Active East Sea Fleet
081 Dong-Yun 7656 Active East Sea Fleet
081 Dong-Yun 771 Active East Sea Fleet
081 Nan-Yun 835 Active South Sea Fleet
081 Nan-Yun 836 Active South Sea Fleet

References
  1. Type 081 Red Flag class
  2. "Type 081 AP". Retrieved April 3, 2013.
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