On Dec. 13 a Chinese netizen uploaded a picture of the ship at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard, which shows that the country's first coast guard ship to break the 10,000 ton displacement mark is already in water and the paintwork is almost complete. The vessel, the Haijing 2901, is bigger than any of the world's Coast Guard ships, making it the biggest coast guard ship in the world.
Before the China Coast Guard Bureau was set up last year, the chief engineer at the Jiangnan Shipyard, Hu Keyi, said the shipyard had received orders for two maritime patrol ships with a displacement of 10,000 tons.
Reports suggest that the loaded displacement of the ship could reach 12,000 tons, with a speed of 25 knots. The vessel has 76mm rapid-fire naval guns, two secondary turrets and two anti-aircraft machine guns. Its cruising endurance, seaworthiness and speed give it an advantage over other countries in the region, according to the news organization. As the first number in the ship's serial number is 2, the ship will likely be deployed to the East China Sea, with the disputed Diaoyu islands its main area of patrol.
