NEWCON Aircraft Carrier - What Shipyard?

China's shipbuilding capacity is very developed, with four major shipbuilding base, three of which are in the coast: Shanghai, Dalian, Guangzhou; one inland: Wuchang. There are more than 100 shipyards, including Dalian, Shanghai Jiangnan, Hudong and China, Guangzhou Huangpu, Wuhan Wuchang, Liaoning Huludao, which can build more than 50,000 tons of ships and more than 40 shipyard.

China designed and built its second aircraft carrier "completely on its own" in Dalian in northeastern Liaoning Province, a Defense Ministry spokesperson confirmed 31 December 2015.

China had at least seven shipyards with berths large enough (three hundred meters or more). These yards are located in Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Huludao. All are operated by either the China State Shipbuilding Corporation or the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Shanghai’s Changxing Island Shipyard, Dalian, and the Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry complex near Huludao are strong candidates. Bohai has the added benefit of large, covered building sheds where carrier parts could be fabricated in modular fashion, out of the view of satellite surveillance. The company says it has the “largest indoor seven-step” ship construction facilities in China.

On 28 June 2005 China's www.Boxun.com reported that China will begin to build its first aircraft carrier in August 2005 at a cost of 30 billion yuan (about US$362 million). The report said the carrier will be built by the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. This was denied by Zhan Guangqin, deputy chief of China's Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Japanese media speculated in 2010 that China was building two 50,000 to 60,000 tons-class aircraft carriers in Shanghai's Changxing Island shipyard is one of them into the water in 2014. By one report, there will be delays in production of the first of two 50,000-60,000t indigenous carriers, as the CIC-Changxing shipyard reported that it was short of skilled workers. As early as January 2011 images appeared on the Chinese internet that were claimed to be "Modular assembly carrier switched from CDC (major discovery: the mysterious ship parts around Laowa exposure)."

Reports of two being built at Changxingdao yard described as "not accurate" by Song Xue, CoS of PLA Navy on 23 April 2013. "The next aircraft carrier we need will be larger and carry more fighters" than the ex-Varyag.

Kanwa Defence Review, citing official sources from the Chinese city of Dalian, said that a ceremony celebrating the cutting of steel plate for aircraft carriers was held in the Dalian-based China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation at the end of 2013, marking the beginning of the construction of China's first homegrown aircraft carrier. The article also said that the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai will build the second domestic carrier.

In September 2015 satellite imagery of Dalian shipyard in northern China showed the extent of carrier construction. The images show what appeared to be the hull of an aircraft carrier under construction in a dry dock. According to IHS Jane, the hull "is in an advanced state of assembly." Based on the photographs, experts estimate the ship’s length to be roughly 787 feet, with a beam of nearly 114 feet.

According to Wang Min, the Communist Party secretary of Liaoning Province, officials hope to complete construction of the new ship in 2020. Once operational, the aircraft carriers could greatly expand Beijing’s ability to defend territory beyond its borders.

Rumors of Beijing’s construction of a new aircraft carrier first surfaced in February, and were confirmed in July by internal documents from the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. "The priority missions of building the aircraft carrier and nuclear-submarines have been carried out smoothly and with outstanding results," documents, published by Taiwanese media outlets, report.

"[China’s home-based carriers] would be capable of improved endurance and of carrying and launching more varied types of aircraft, including electronic warfare, early warning, and anti-submarine, thus increasing the potential striking power of a PLA Navy ‘carrier battle group’ in safeguarding China’s interest.." reads a Pentagon report.

In particular, the ships could be of use in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Beijing’s construction of artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago has led to an increased US presence in the region. The ships could also allow Beijing to more effectively carry out humanitarian operations in the South China Sea.

The third and subsequent aircraft carriers are expected to be built in the Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding factory. But the Chinese authorities have not yet confirmed the project, and there has been no visible evidence of the construction process as of early 2017.

If the Jiangnan Shipyard in Changxing Island to build large aircraft carriers, we must use a new large dock. From the existing Changxin shipbuilding base dock location, use the 3 line close to line 4, the possibility of the largest dock 2. No. 4 dock is 365 meters long, 82 meters wide, 14.1 meters deep, with a 800 ton gantry crane. The size of foreign aircraft carriers and dock to dock or berth compared favorably. Such as the United States New York Bobst shipbuilding Newport News carrier dock size of 488 meters long, 76.2 meters wide, French built "Charles de Gaulle" Brest shipyard dock length of 270 m, the British built aircraft carrier "invincible" barrow shipyard dock 300 meters long.

In June 2011, "China Ship news" reported the Jiangnan Shipyard and Changxing heavy industry ship group deputy general manager of South Daqing pointed out that Jiangnan Shipyard and Changxing heavy industry integration was the ship group for the future development bureau in order to further enhance the performance of national defense construction and commitment to the overall capacity of the major military mission further in accordance with the requirements of the central priorities.

To combine forces for the shipbuilding production plan, Jiangnan Shipyard at Changxing had a heavy pooling of resources, complementary advantages, further and stronger, so was the inevitable choice. Changxin heavy industries in the original shipbuilding base in Changxin, was the 2nd line with the 3 and 4 dock. This meant that the 2 line of the 4 dock will become China's builder of large aircraft carriers. A China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation model of the Changxin shipbuilding base placed an carrier model in No. 2 line of No. 4 dock.

Satellite images showed that after November 2015 the #4 dock's original 800 ton gantry crane had been removed. And according to the shipbuilding industry, on the morning of 8 June 2015, the groundbreaking ceremony was held successfully at Jiangnan Shipyard Group for Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding Base No. 4 dock of a 1600 ton gantry crane. The 1600 ton gantry crane was built by Shanghai Zhenhua heavy industry manufacturing. The track gauge of 158 meters, about 1000 meters long, crane area covering the entire shipyard and assembly site. The project will use the Zhenhua heavy industries patented dual car scheme, the girder with single box girder type, beam height of 95 meters, machine weight with the domestic similar products compared to about 10% lighter.