PLA barge fleet now in service as hull numbers on 3 confirm deployment: analyst

A fleet of large barges in the People’s Liberation Army has been assigned hull numbers, suggesting they have entered service in what would be Beijing’s latest move to deter Taiwan militarily.

Internet users spotted three advanced specialised island-landing vessels from the “Dong Gong” series docked at a beach in mainland China in June, each bearing a hull number in the sequence 401 to 403.

The markings mean the ships serve in the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, according to Song Zhongping, a former Chinese military instructor, who said that “the character ‘dong’ also conveys the concept of the East Sea Fleet”.

The character dong means east while gong refers to engineering.

Drone footage circulating online showed the barges equipped with four, six and eight legs, respectively. During landing, their columns are expected to extend to the seabed to lift their craft clear of the water and hold it firmly in position.

The midsection of each hull is fitted with an extended bridge deck, while the bow is equipped with cable-stayed bridge towers.