Tuqiang class tug is a class of little known naval

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxil ...

currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The exact type still remains unknown, because the only official information released by the Chinese government is that this class is a new generation of 9000-hp class sea-going rescue tug, but this tug has received NATO reporting name Tuqiang class, or 图强 in Chinese, meaning Making determined efforts to do well. A total of three of this class of sea-going tug (ATA) have been confirmed in active service as of the mid-2010s. Tuqiang-class tugs in PLAN service are designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by three-digit number. The second Chinese character is Tuo (拖), meaning tug in Chinese, because these ships are classified as

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East (Dong, 东) for

East Sea Fleet The Eastern Theater Command Navy (), or East Sea Fleet (ESF; ), is one of the three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the East China Sea under the Eastern Theater Command. It was the first naval force formed by the Peop ...

, North (Bei, 北) for North Sea Fleet, and South (Nan, 南) for

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, ...

. However, the pennant numbers may have changed due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention, or when units are transferred to different fleets.

References

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