23 August 2021

Chinese military using commercial Ro-Ro shipping to enhance its amphibious capabilities

by Andrew Tate

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is continuing to develop its amphibious capabilities by using commercial ships to increase its capacity to transport military equipment.

Video footage released by state broadcaster China Centra Television (CCTV) on 17 August showed military vehicles of the 73rd Group Army being embarked on Bohai Zhen Zhu (‘Bohai Pearl'): a 24,000-tonne roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) commercial ferry with the capacity to transport more than 200 vehicles.

The vessel is operated by the Bohai Ferry Group, the ships of which can be co-opted into the PLA's 8th Transport Group, according to the ‘China Maritime Report No. 4: Civil Transport in PLA Power' published in December 2019 by the US Naval War College's China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI). The report also identifies ships of the Hainan Strait Shipping Company forming the 9th Transport Group, while the 5th Transport Group is thought to comprise ships of the CSC RoRo Logistics Company.

A screengrab from footage released by CCTV on 17 August showing a military truck belonging to an amphibious brigade under the PLAGF's 73rd Group Army rolling off the ramp of the Bohai Zhen Zhu commercial ferry commercial ferry as part of a training exercise. (CCTV)

An analysis by Thomas Shugart published on WarOnTheRocks.com on 16 August questioned whether assessments made by the US Department of Defence and the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which conclude that the PLA currently lacks the amphibious lift capacity required to support an invasion of Taiwan, have taken sufficient account of the commercial shipping that would be requisitioned for such an operation.

CCTV did not reveal when the service took place but Shugart posted on Twitter on 25 July that two other large ro-ro vessels, the 33,000-tonne Bohai Ma Zhu

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is continuing to develop its amphibious capabilities by using...

Jane's Find unrivaled intelligence, consultancy and advertising solutions to the defence and national security sectors.