The author found after boarding the 956EM 138 Taizhou during this Navy Day that the construction quality of 138 is far inferior to 136 & 137. Despite being carefully maintained, the surface of 138 built by Russian Federation has many veining and potholes, while the original brass valves and nozzles remained the same as new. In addition, the weld seam of 138 is wider than the Slava Class Cruiser Varyag, which was built in 1979. One guy on Weibo mentioned that the superstructure of the warship is very uneven, like built with hammer.
The author asked some friends who are more familiar with China's 956EM and received the following response:
"The quality of 136 and 137 was originally better than 138 and 138, they're Soviet warships."
"956E was for Soviet its own use, the Soviets would not deceive themselves."
"The Soviet Union disintegrated, the shipyard could not operate normally, and shipyard employees were unable to work diligently. The final product became like this."
"This is the case for 956EM's original surface, and it was like this when it arrived."
"Back then, Chinese representatives stationed at Russian shipyards constantly monitored the construction situation and argued with Russians every day. Otherwise..."
"They are all used with high intensity and have similar levels of maintenance. 138 and 139 are rust faster than 136 and 137. I doubt whether the steel is wrong."
Perhaps because of the poor condition of 138 and 139, PLAN chose not to upgrade them.
