Class overview
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
General characteristics
Class and typeDuchuan class
TypeDispatch boat
Electronic warfare
& decoys		None
ArmamentNone
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesNone

Duchuan class dispatch boat (YFL) is a class of little known naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN),[1][2][3][4][5] With the exact type still remains unknown, it has received the NATO reporting name Duchuan class, or 渡船 in Chinese, meaning Ferry Boat. A total of three units of this class have been confirmed in active service as of 2022.[1][2][3][4][5]

Ships of this class in PLAN service are designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a two-digit number. The second Chinese character is Jiao (交), short for Jiao-Tong-Ting (交通艇), meaning dispatch boat (ferry) in Chinese, because these ships are classified as dispatch boats. 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 are subject to change due to changes of Chinese naval ships naming convention, or when units are transferred to different fleets. Specification:[2][3][4][5]

Type NATO designation Pennant No. Name
(English) 		Name
(Han 中文) 		Commissioned Displacement Fleet Status
Duchuan class dispatch boat (YFL) Duchuan class Bei-Jiao 72 North Traffic 72 北交 72 ? ? t North Sea Fleet Active
Nan-Jiao 83 South Traffic 83 南交 83 ? ? t South Sea Fleet Active
Nan-Jiao 89 South Traffic 89 南交 89 ? ? t South Sea Fleet Active

References

  1. ^ a b "Nanjiao 83 class dispatch boat". Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "PLANS recognition guide 2018". July 16, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "PLANS recognition guide 2019". February 19, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "PLANS recognition guide 2020". February 19, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "PLANS recognition guide 2015". August 7, 2015.
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