Class of military salvage ship
The Datuo class is a class of little known rescue and salvage ships (ARS ) built in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] The exact domestic Chinese type designation remain unknown, and this class is identified by its NATO reporting name Datuo class,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] or 大拖 in Chinese, meaning "big tug".
Specification:[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Length: 60 meters (196 ft 10 in)
The Datuo class in PLAN service is designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a three-digit number. The second Chinese character is Tuo (拖), meaning Tug in Chinese, because these ships are rescue tugs , and thus can also be used as tugs. 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 may have changed due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention. As of 2022, a total of four ships have been identified, plus several more units under construction:[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Type
NATO designation
Pennant No.
Name (English)
Name (Han 中文)
Commissioned
Displacement
Fleet
Status
Datuo-class rescue and salvage ship (ARS)
Datuo class
Bei-Tuo 742
North Tug 742
北拖 742
?
? t
North Sea Fleet
Active
Nan-Tuo 159
South Tug 159
南拖 159
?
? t
South Sea Fleet
Active
Nan-Tuo 194
South Tug 194
南拖 194
?
? t
South Sea Fleet
Active
Nan-Tuo 196
South Tug 196
南拖 196
?
? t
South Sea Fleet
Active
Various
Various
Various
?
? t
?
Under construction
References
Ammunition ships
Buoy tenders Cable layers Cargo ships
Crane ship Degaussing /deperming shipsDive tenders Dredgers Engineering ships
Engineering ships of unknown class/type: Bei-Gong 275 & 276
Environmental research ships Fleet Replenishment ship Floating pile drivers General purpose research ships Harbor utility craft Hospital ships
Hospital ships Medical evacuation ships Ambulance transports Ambulance craftd
Hydrographic survey ships Icebreakers Museum ships Oceanographic research ships Oceanographic surveillance ships Personnel transport
Range support &target ships Repair ships
Rescue and salvage ships
Spy ships Submarine support ships
Submersibles
Tankers
Technological research ships
Torpedo trials craft
Torpedo retrievers Torpedo trials ships
Tracking ship Training ships
Training ship Training ship, sail Onshore stationary training facilities
Tugs
Harbor tug Large harbor tug Rescue Tug Sea-going Tug Tugs of unknown class/type
Bei-Tuo 153, 651, 704, 728, Dong-Tuo 845, 861, Nan-Tuo 142, 163, 168, 176, 187, 188
UAV mothershipsUnmanned surface vehicles (USV) Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV)
Weapon trials ships
* = Under construction or procurement