''Zhuanghe'' (865) () is a converted

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

that entered service with

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

(PLAN)

South Sea Fleet The Southern Theater Command Navy (), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the South China Sea under the Southern Theater Command. It is headquartered in Zhanjiang, G ...

in 2004. The modular container ship is intended for various missions with the primary task of medical evacuation, but with different modules, it can also perform other missions such as troop transport, naval and aviation training. Originally, ''Zhuanghe'' was the third ship of the ''Xianghe'' (香河) class container ships built by West Germany in the mid-1980s for

COSCO China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...

, with some minor differences between each ship of this class, such as number of containers carried and propulsion system. A total of four ships were built by three different German shipyards and ''Zhuanghe'' itself was built by

Seebeckwerft Seebeckwerft A.G. was a German shipbuilding company, located in Bremerhaven at the mouth of the river Weser. Founded in 1876, it became later one of the leading shipbuilding companies in the region. History Seebeckwerft was founded in 1876 in ...

in 1985 and entered service in July of the same year. Standard capacity was a total of 1668 containers, including 108 for refrigerated containers. Approximately half of the containers were carried above the deck, and the other half below deck in cargo holds. The ship was divided into six cargo holds with a volume of approximately 39,905 cubic meters. A total of 118 bottles of carbon dioxide dry powder fire extinguishers were carried to fight potential fire, which would be detected by automatic fire detection system. As a container ship, ''Zhuanghe'' was crewed by a total of 32 sailors. Standard rescue equipment included two

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

s each with capacity of 41 people, a

liferaft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (liferafts) are also used. In the mil ...

on the port side with capacity of 25 people and two life rafts on starboard side each with capacity of 31 people. The conversion of ''Zhuanghe'' was completed in 2004 and the number of lifeboats and life rafts were increased, while the number of containers were drastically reduced because containers are not stacked above deck any more. A total of a hundred container sized modules are carried, and any combination can be selected based on the mission requirement. Built as a cargo ship, not much consideration was given to passenger comfort because ''Zhuanghe'' was not a cruise ship, and only carried a very small crew due to high levels of automation. Due to the lack of information released about the ship, it is not clear if ''Zhuanghe'' is stable enough to allow extremely complex surgeries to be performed in extremely adverse weather like the

Type 920 hospital ship ''Daishan Dao'' is a Type 920 hospital ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy of the People's Republic of China. ''Daishan Dao'' is also known as ''Peace Ark'' during peacetime, and has received NATO reporting name Anwei class (meaning comfort ...

, a capability the earlier ''Qiaongsha'' class ambulance transport, also converted from a cargo ship does not have.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhuanghe 1985 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Naval ships of the People's Republic of China Auxiliary ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy