Type 272 icebreaker is the third generation icebreaker indigenously developed by China for the

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) to replace its predecessor Type 210 icebreaker, and Type 272 has received

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

''Yanrao'' class. Type 272 icebreaker is the improvement over earlier Type 210 icebreaker and it is larger than its predecessor. The

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

of the first unit of Type 272 consists of two Chinese character Hai-bing (海冰, meaning Sea Ice in Chinese), followed by a three digit number, and this pennant number is the same pennant number used by a first generation Chinese icebreaker Type 071 that retired in June 2013, five months before the start of the construction of the first unit of this first unit of Type 272 icebreaker in November 2013. Type 272 has more advanced design features in comparison to earlier Chinese icebreakers, such as the incorporation of multifunction displays, and it can withstand wind scale of 12 when sailing. Type 272 is capable of carrying a large helicopter of Changhe Z-8 class, and the second unit is built by PLAN Plant No. 4180, which is also commonly known as Southern Liaoning Shipyard (辽南造船厂).

References

Auxiliary ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy Icebreakers of China {{china-mil-stub