Chinese navy commissions another Type 056-class corvette

Another Type 056 (Jiangdao)-class corvette has entered service with China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), as reflected in photographs posted on the Chinese Weibo social media platform.

The ship has been given pennant number 617 and named Jingdezhen after a prefecture-level city in China’s northeastern Jiangxi Province. The commissioning ceremony appears to have taken place on 17 June at a naval facility in the eastern coastal city of Xiamen.

The Type 056 design may also be classed as a light frigate, and the latest ship is thought to have joined the 16th frigate squadron, which already operates four Type 056 and two anti-submarine warfare (ASW)-capable Type 056A corvettes.

It is not entirely clear how many Type 056s are now in service, although it is more than 50. Four of the class were commissioned in January but unconfirmed sources suggest that a further six may subsequently have been commissioned this year, prior to Jingdezhen.

Although unconfirmed, the number of commissionings is quite plausible. In January it was assessed that there were at least 20 more of the class that had been launched and were fitting out or undergoing sea trials.