China’s 1st Type 075 LHD Caught on Fire during Fitting Out

The first-in-class amphibious vessel, which was launched 6 months ago, is currently at fitting out stage at CSSC’s Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai.

The images show that fire broke out inside the hull of the ship. Smoke can be seen coming out close to one the aircraft elevator and large smoke marks left around well deck opening at the stern:

According to several eyewitnesses a fire broke out this morning on the 1st PLAN Type 075 LHD, which is currently being fitted out at the Hudong shipyard in Shanghai.

It seems as if the fire was quickly put out but how it will affect the ship's schedule is not clear now. pic.twitter.com/OZCYjbRe1t

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 11, 2020

The communist party of China in Shanghai to build the latest 075 warships. Black smoke curled up the ship. It is one of the PLA navy is building large amphibious assault ships, for the navy's largest amphibious warship, has a hangar, can carry nearly 30 helicopters. pic.twitter.com/RslXZp4n2O

— Robin5 (@Robin579384016) April 11, 2020

According to Chinese netizens, the fire was put out relatively quickly. And new pictures taken today (12 April 2020) show that most of the “apparent” signs of the fire (black marks from the smoke) have been cleaned up, especially around the stern:

Une autre photo d’amateur prise aujourd’hui du 1er porte-hélicoptères Type 075, qui a eu un incendie dans son radier hier. On peut voir encore quelques traces laissées par les suies et la fumée sur les ouvertures du bord. pic.twitter.com/Dy7HMO273c

— East Pendulum (@HenriKenhmann) April 12, 2020

Type 075 update;

Pictures showing fire damage quickly repainted, still some slight damage visible along port side however. Damage painted quickly especially as you would expect full investigation/survey. @CovertShores @UKDefJournal @NavyLookout @TheBrit96 pic.twitter.com/0hKqpU4MOK

— Seb H (@sebh1981) April 12, 2020

The vessel, intended for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy), was set to begin sea trials by the end of the year. A sistership, the second LHD in the class, is set to be launched any day now according to Forbes. According to local media, both Type 075 ships’ production schedules have already been affected by the nation-wide factory shutdown following the COVID-19 epidemic. While the fire damage looks superficial on the outside, there is no way to tell what kind of damage was done inside the LHD and if the incident will affect the expected start of sea trials.

About China’s Type 075 LHD

The Chinese Navy officially started development work on the Type 075 in 2011. The project called for a helicopter carrier displacing more than 30,000 tonnes. Its aim is likely to increase the “vertical” amphibious assault capability with the very mountainous East Coast of Taiwan in mind.

As for its specifications, rumors speak of “36,000 tons of displacement”, “capacity of 28 helicopters”, “diesel engine with the 9,000 kW 16PC2-6B” and “four CIWS including two HQ-10 and two H/PJ-11”.

While the Type 075 appears to slightly smaller than the U.S. Navy’s LHA, it is larger compared to French or Spanish/Australian LHD equivalents. It is actually pretty close in size to Italy’s future Trieste LHD.

The first Type 075 was constructed in record time (this has become the norm nowadays, for Chinese shipbuilding: extremely fast construction pace that no one can match). A second vessel of the class is about to be launched while a larger version is rumored to be planned.

When fully operational, the new Type 075 LHD will bolster the PLAN’s amphibious capabilities, which today rely on the Type 071 LPD design.