Type 071 icebreaker

Not to be confused with Type 071 amphibious transport dock.
Class overview
Operators:  People's Liberation Army Navy
Succeeded by: Type 210 icebreaker
Subclasses: 071A, 071G
Built: 1969–1989
In service: 1971–
Completed: 3
Active: 1
Laid up: 1
Retired: 1
General characteristics
Displacement: 3,192 tonnes (3,142 long tons; 3,519 short tons)
Length: 84.28 m (276 ft 6 in)
Beam: 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Draft: 3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range: 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi)
Endurance: 30 days

Type 071 icebreaker with NATO reporting name Yanha (延哈) class is the first generation icebreaker indigenously developed in China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). A total of three was built and the last unit remain active in PLAN service.

In 1969, large scale icing in Bohai Sea caused great economic loss and proved that older icebreakers built before 1950 were simply too small and too old to perform icebreaking duties effectively in severe icing conditions. Chinese premier Zhou Enlai ordered that China must build icebreakers of its own design to handle the job. Accordingly, PLAN issued Order 082 for initial requirement, and Qiuxin (求新) Shipyard of Jiangnan Shipyard was assigned to do the job. From March 14 thru March 19, 1969, a team from Qiuxin Shipyard was sent to Tianjin Navigational Bureau to obtain detailed information for the design, which was submitted to PLAN and approved by PLAN Order 813. Construction begun in September 24, 1969 and the first ship was completed in just a hundred and one days. Because the program was rushed to meet the urgent need, some modifications were not be incorporated in the first unit, but had to wait until the second unit to apply these changes. Consequently, the second unit with modification is re-designated as 071A (Type 071甲). Experience gained from deployment provided suggestions for further upgrade of the third unit, which was designated as 071G, with G stands for Gai (改), abbreviation for Gai-Jin (改进), meaning improvement in Chinese. These ships are constructed of manganese steel (24 mm thick at bow) and are capable of breaking ice of one meter thick. Type 071 series are named as Haibing (海冰), meaning Sea Ice in Chinese, followed by a three digit number. Specification:[1]

 Type   Pennant #   Builder   Launched   Commissioned   Status   Fleet 
071 Haibing 721 Jiangnan Shipyard Dec 26, 1969 Dec 1971 In reserve North Sea Fleet
071A Haibing 722 Jiangnan Shipyard Aug 1972 Feb 1973 Retired in Jun 2013 North Sea Fleet
071G Haibing 519 Jiangnan Shipyard 1980s 1989 Active North Sea Fleet

References

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