Interesting article about China's new Ferry Roro ramp system that can discharge armor vehicle while sailing. So DOD might err on the potential of China sea lift based solely on amphibious Landing craft. It is long article click the link for the rest. this is a stealth way to prepare for Taiwan invasion without alerting the foe
Ramping the Strait: Quick and Dirty Solutions to Boost Amphibious Lift
Publication: China Brief Volume: 21 Issue: 14
By:
July 16, 2021 03:52 PM Age: 1 week
RO-RO ferry Bang Chui Dao (Source: COSCO Shipping Ferry).
Introduction
The threat of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) using military force to coerce or perhaps launch an amphibious invasion of Taiwan has received significant attention in the past year. Meanwhile, the recent commissioning of the PLA Navy’s first Type-075 amphibious assault ship has further highlighted China’s developing amphibious capabilities (
, May 9). At the same time, the apparent shortage of amphibious lift required to execute large-scale landing operations leaves many wondering whether China is serious about its threats against Taiwan. The U.S. Department of Defense’s 2020 China Military Power Report notes the PLA’s focus on ocean-going amphibious platforms rather than a large fleet of traditional landing ships and craft suggests that a direct beach-assault operation is less likely at the moment (
, September 1, 2020).
But the PLA may have other plans for transporting troops and equipment across the Strait: the growing capabilities of its merchant roll on-roll off (RO-RO) ships (, December 6, 2019). These are vessels equipped with built-in ramps that enable wheeled and tracked cargo to load and offload under their own power. Such ships have the potential to deliver a significant volume of force, providing access to port terminals or other lighterage is available. They do not, however, provide solutions for launching waves of amphibious assault forces, for which dedicated landing ships are still lacking. Among the numerous critical components necessary for a successful cross-Strait landing, a failure to secure landing areas for follow-on forces in the initial assault would bring the entire endeavor to a screeching halt, likely inflicting severe costs on the part of the aggressor and resulting in a withdrawal.
For China’s RO-RO ships to support an amphibious assault scenario, their ramps would need to be capable of in-water operations to launch amphibious combat vehicles. This capability appears to have been publicly demonstrated in the summer of 2020 by the PRC-flagged vessel Bang Chui Dao (棒棰岛), a 15,560-ton RO-RO owned and operated by COSCO Shipping Ferry Company (, accessed June 24). This article describes a new ramp system observed on this ship during a recent exercise and discusses its implications for PLA amphibious capabilities in a cross-Strait landing.
New Ramp System Demonstrated in Amphibious Landing Exercises
During the peak of summer training in 2020, the 1st Marine Brigade of the PLA Navy Marine Corps (PLANMC) mustered all personnel and equipment (全员, 全装,
quan yuan, quan zhuang) for day and night landing exercises in amphibious training areas off the coast of Guangdong Province. These exercises featured night-time mobilization and assembly, embarkation, obstacle clearance, amphibious assault landings, and artillery and air defense training (
, August 2, 2020). They also included the use of a new ship to carry these forces to their training area.
On July 10, the
Bang Chui Dao, which usually runs ferry routes across the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf, arrived in Zhanjiang (湛江) to join the PLANMC exercise. It took on 1st Brigade troops, trucks, and Type-05 amphibious armored vehicles at the Southern Theater Navy’s 6th Landing Ship Flotilla loading dock (
, August 3, 2020).
According to automatic identification system (AIS) transmission data of the vessel’s movements, the ship departed Zhanjiang just before 10:00 AM local time and arrived off Tangxia (塘霞), an amphibious training area in Dianbai County (电白区), at almost 4:00 PM. AIS data indicates that it likely began launching vehicles 4 to 5 kilometers (2.5 to 3.1 miles) offshore without dropping anchor.
Video of a vehicle launching shows the ship was likely running slow into the wind to maintain a lee astern; it appears to have maintained bare steerage while drifting to the southeast at half a knot until offloading was completed and then departed for nearby Shuidong Harbor at around 4:48 PM.
[1] After being moored dockside overnight and well into the next day, the ship then left for the Shuidong anchorage on the evening of July 11. It returned to Zhanjiang in the afternoon of July 12, presumably to offload PLANMC forces. Although it is unclear how many PLAN landing ships took part, at least one Type-073A landing ship likely participated (
, August 3, 2020).
The ship’s participation is not abnormal. It has supported PLA transportation exercises for years, for example in 2014 (shown below). According to its AIS transmissions, the
Bang Chui Dao was very busy in the summer of 2020. It made multiple trips beyond the Bohai/Yellow Sea to areas with PLA landing ships and craft, including a visit to a PLA Ground Forces (PLAGF) watercraft site in Xiamen, Fujian Province which is close to a PLAGF amphibious brigade in Zhangzhou (漳州), and possibly conducted activities in waters near Kinmen (金门,
Jinmen) Island.
[2] Little information is available on what it did there.
Bang Chui Dao also played a significant role in “Eastern Transportation-Projection 2020A” (东部运投-2020A), an exercise held by the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force in the Eastern Theater Command between June and August 2020.
The ship’s participation is not abnormal. It has supported PLA transportation exercises for years, for example in 2014 (shown below). According to its AIS transmissions, the
Bang Chui Dao was very busy in the summer of 2020. It made multiple trips beyond the Bohai/Yellow Sea to areas with PLA landing ships and craft, including a visit to a PLA Ground Forces (PLAGF) watercraft site in Xiamen, Fujian Province which is close to a PLAGF amphibious brigade in Zhangzhou (漳州), and possibly conducted activities in waters near Kinmen (金门,
Jinmen) Island.
[2] Little information is available on what it did there.
Bang Chui Dao also played a significant role in “Eastern Transportation-Projection 2020A” (东部运投-2020A), an exercise held by the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force in the Eastern Theater Command between June and August 2020.
The key technical development demonstrated in its July 2020 exercise with the PLANMC is the converted stern ramp installed on the Bang Chui Dao. The ship’s previous straight stern ramp (shown above) was a hydraulic-powered ramp type often seen on RO-ROs. At some point in the past few years, this vessel’s stern ramp was converted to enable amphibious launch. Video of this capability appeared during a 2019 state media profile of an officer at the former Nanjing Military Region Military Representative Office for Navigational Matters, showing the vessel’s ability to recover a ZTD-05 amphibious assault vehicle, likely from a PLAGF amphibious unit (, May 14, 2019).
The 2020 exercise provides a closer look at the new ramp system. The ramp is driven directly by two large hydraulic cylinders and two support arms. When conducting launch and recovery, these are connected between the top of the hydraulic mounting assemblies on the inner ramp and the top of the freight deck threshold to provide the strength and leverage required to deploy the ramp into the water and withstand sea action. The support arms also act as preventers at maximum extension, while the ramp is kept rigid by the hydraulic cylinders. A longer outer ramp flap has also been added, controlled by another set of hydraulic cylinders mounted on the underside or backside of the ramp. These help to provide strength at the end of the outer ramp and may also allow for further articulation to help vehicles get on the inner ramp. Based on 2020 video footage, the ramp system appears able to launch and recover at a minimum the lightweight ZTD-05 vehicle (26 tons).[3]
A surge in PLA landing ship construction would be expected before serious preparations for a cross-Strait invasion. This would be exposed to ship spotters and overhead imagery over the course of many months and has not yet been observed. Nevertheless, the testing of new ramp systems as seen on the Bang Chui Dao could offer the PLA a potentially fast and cheap method of surging amphibious lift capabilities without raising concerns. e cloud cover.
