China Commissions First Large Patrol Vessel in the Taiwan Straits

The Haixun 06, China’s first large vessel designated to patrol the Taiwan Straits, was officially assigned to the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration on Monday.

The vessel is 128m long, 16m wide and 7.9m deep, with a displacement of 6,600 tons with a full load, a top speed of 23 knots and a cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles. It can cruise at sea for 60 days without external supplies, and is capable of reaching all the seas in the world except the North and South Poles, the administration said in a news release.

The Haixun 06 can also conduct far-reaching sea patrols in level 12 winds and level 9 sea state, and carry out maritime law enforcement activities under level 11 winds and level 7 sea state.

The ship is equipped with the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, GPS and multi-satellite linkage satellite communication equipment. The vessel can be used as an independent, mobile maritime administrative law enforcement unit to carry out maritime inspection and supervision, and deal with maritime traffic accidents.

As per Chinese media, the Haixun 06 can also work with communication command vehicles, maritime patrol vehicles, other law enforcement vessels, helicopters, UAVs, VTS (vessel traffic service), and AIS (automatic identification systems), which is an important part of the construction of a comprehensive supervision and response system.

Wang Huaming, deputy director of the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration, explained that the “number of vessel accidents in the Taiwan Straits accounts for about 10% of China's annual total due to heavy traffic, overlapping shipping routes with coastal fishing grounds, thick fog in spring, typhoons in summer and strong winds in winter.”

The Haixun 06 is capable of searching for and rescuing ships and people in distress at sea, as well as responding to ship collisions, fire, pollution, loss of control, reef and other dangerous accidents, Wang added.