Type 813

spy ship A spy ship or reconnaissance vessel is a dedicated ship intended to gather intelligence, usually by means of sophisticated electronic eavesdropping. In a wider sense, any ship intended to gather information could be considered a spy ship. Spy ...

is the first purpose-built, indigenously designed spy ship entering service with 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). Type 813 is the result of the urgent need of specialized spy ship for intelligence gathering missions in the mid-1970s, and to speed up the program, it was decided in October 1976 that the newly constructed spy ship would share the same hull of

Type 645 oceanographic research ship Type 645 oceanographic research ship is an oceanographic ship developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and other Chinese civilian establishments. Type 645 was an experimental program of the Fourth five-year plan of China a ...

. Design begun in August 1977 by the 2nd Directorate of the 708th Institute of

China State Shipbuilding Corporation The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is a Chinese shipbuilding conglomerate. Description CSSC is one of the top 10 defence groups in China. It consists of various shipyards, equipment manufacturers, research institutes and shipb ...

, which is also more commonly known a
China Shipbuilding and Oceanic Engineering Design Academy (中国船舶及海洋工程设计研究)
nowadays. Design work was completed in September 1980 and construction immediately begun in the same month. There are a total of ten sets of reconnaissance equipment on board and the ship entered service with

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 ...

. The ship is designed to withstand storm with wind scale of 12. Originally named as Xiangyanghong (向阳红) 21, the ship was later renamed as Haiwangxing. After the ship has been transferred to

Chinese Coast Guard China Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the People's Armed Police of China. It is currently the world's largest coast guard. Function The CCG is known to perform mostl ...

and received pennant number 3469, it was replaced by a Type 815A spy ship with the same name.

References

{{Ship classes of the Chinese Navy, state=uncollapsed Auxiliary surveillance ship classes Auxiliary ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy