Type 744 buoy tender

Class overview
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
Class overview
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded byType 994 buoy tender
Succeeded byType 944 buoy tender
Built1979 to 1980s
In service1980 onward
In commission1980 onward
Planned4
Completed4
Active4
General characteristics
Class and typeYannan-class
TypeType 744A Buoy tender
Displacement1,750 long tons (1,780 t)
Length66.6 m (218 ft 6 in)
Beam11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draft4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Depth6 m (19 ft 8 in)
PropulsionMarine Diesel @ 973 bhp (726 kW) each
Electronic warfare
& decoys		None
Armament1 twin 25 or 37mm gun & 1 twin 14.5mm machine gun
ArmourNone
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesNone

Type 744 buoy tender and its derivatives with the NATO reporting name Yannan (延南) class is a class of Chinese buoy tender that is in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Chinese civilian governmental establishments. It is a boat or vessel which services and replaces buoys.

Precursors

Type 985

Type 744 derived from the Type 985 buoy tender, the first purpose built buoy tender in the Chinese inventory. Type 985 is designed to be the replacement of earlier buoy tenders converted from former US Navy net laying ships. In the early 1980s, maritime navigational responsibility was transferred from PLAN to Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China (MOT). Type 985 was among the equipment transferred from PLAN to MOT and has remained in civilian service since.[1]

Type 994

Type 994 buoy tender is the larger cousin of the smaller Type 985 buoy tender, from which it is developed. Like Type 985, all units of this class were transferred to civilian service under MOT:[1]

Type 744 and 744A

Type 744 employs design modifications based on the experience gained on earlier ships. Type 744 is designed by the 708th Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The 708th Institute is more commonly known as China Shipbuilding and Oceanic Engineering Design Academy.[2] Construction began in December 1979 and four were completed, with the last ship entering service in May 1981. There are two subtypes, the civilian version Type 744 and the naval version Type 744A. The most obvious external visual difference between Types 744 and Type 744A is that the gun mount at in the bow of the naval version Type 744A is replaced by a mast in the civilian version. The ship received NATO reporting name as Yannan (延南) class.[3][4][5][6] One of the Type 744A ships, Dongbiao 263, retired from Chinese Navy on August 1, 2015, and transferred to civilian service.[7][8] Specification:[9]

  • Length between perpendiculars (m): 66.6
  • Beam (m): 11.8
  • Depth (m): 6
  • Draft (m): 4
  • Displacement (t): 1750
  • Class notation: ZC
  • Crew: 44
  • Bunks: 52
  • Fuel oil tank (cu m): 161
  • Fresh water tank (cu m): 276
  • Propulsion: Two 8NVD48A-20 diesel engine @ 973 kW each
  • Diesel generator: 72 kW x 4
  • Crane: PBW 12/15 60 kW x 1

Ships

Type NATO designation Pennant No. Name
(English) 		Name
(Han 中文) 		Builder Commissioned Length Displacement Fleet Status
Type 985 ? Hai-Biao 624 Sea Buoy 624 海标 624 Jiangnan Shipyard 1966 65.22 1120 t All fleets Retired
Type 994 ? Various Various Various Jiangnan Shipyard 1970s ? 1750 t All fleets Retired
Type 744 Yannan-class Hai-Biao 11 Sea Buoy 11 海标 11 Jiangnan Shipyard Early 1980s 72.35 2,000 t China Maritime Safety Administration Active
Hai-Biao 12 Sea Buoy 12 海标 12 Jiangnan Shipyard Early 1980s 72.35 2,000 t China Maritime Safety Administration Active
Hai-Biao 21 Sea Buoy 21 海标 21 Jiangnan Shipyard Early 1980s 72.35 2,000 t China Maritime Safety Administration Active
Hai-Biao 24 Sea Buoy 1 海标 24 Jiangnan Shipyard Early 1980s 72.35 2,000 t China Maritime Safety Administration Active
Hai-Biao 25 Sea Buoy 1 海标 25 Jiangnan Shipyard Early 1980s 72.35 2,000 t China Maritime Safety Administration Active
Hai-Biao 31 Sea Buoy 31 海标 31 Jiangnan Shipyard Early 1980s 72.35 2,000 t China Maritime Safety Administration Active
Type 744A Bei-Biao 982 North Buoy 982 北标 982 Jiangnan Shipyard March 1981 72.35 2,000 t North Sea Fleet Active
Bei-Biao 983 North Buoy 983 北标 983 Jiangnan Shipyard May 1981 72.35 2,000 t North Sea Fleet Active
Dong-Biao 263 East Buoy 263 东标 263 Jiangnan Shipyard December 6, 1980 72.35 2,000 t East Sea Fleet Retired & transferred to civilian agency on August 1, 2015.
Nan-Biao 463 South Buoy 463 南标 463 Jiangnan Shipyard December 14, 1980 72.35 2,000 t South Sea Fleet Active

References

  1. ^ a b "Type 995 & 985 buoy tenders". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  2. ^ "中国船舶及海洋工程设计研究". Archived from the original on 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
  3. ^ "PLANS recognition guide 2015". August 7, 2015.
  4. ^ "PLANS recognition guide 2018". July 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "PLANS recognition guide 2019". February 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "PLANS recognition guide 2020". February 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "Type 744 #263 retires" (in Simplified Chinese). 2017-01-24.
  8. ^ "Type 744A". Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  9. ^ Type 744