Type 903 replenishment ship

Gaoyouhu
Class overview
Builders	CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded by	Type 908
Succeeded by	Type 901
In commission	2004
Completed	9
Active	9
General characteristics
Type	Replenishment oiler
Displacement	23,369 tons (full load)[1]
Length	178.5 m (585 ft 8 in)[1]
Beam	24.8 m (81 ft 4 in)[1]
Draught	8.7 m (28 ft 7 in)[1]
Propulsion	2 x SEMT Pielstick 16PC2 6V400 diesel engines;[1] 2 shafts[1] Total output: 24,000 hp (18,000 kW)[1]
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)[1]
Range	10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)[1]
Capacity	10,500 tons of fuel oil, 250 tons of fresh water, 680 tons of cargo and ammunition[1]
Complement	130[1]
Armament	4 x twin 37 mm guns[1]
Aircraft carried	1 Harbin Z-8[1] or Changhe Z-18[2]
Aviation facilities	hangar and flight deck[2]

The Type 903 combined replenishment ship (Chinese: 903型综合补给舰, NATO reporting name: Fuchi) is a class of replenishment oiler (AOR) built for the People's Liberation Army Navy, serving as a principal fleet auxiliary ship for blue-water expeditionary missions by the People's Republic of China.^[1] They resemble HTMS Similan, an AOR built by China for Thailand delivered in 1996.^[1][3]

Two original-design Type 903s entered service in 2003. Construction of the Type 903A (NATO reporting name: Fuchi II), a slightly modified design, began in 2010; the first Type 903As entered service in 2013,^[1] and a total of eight ships are currently in service.

According to Zhang Gang, chief designer of Similan, China started development of a new AOR in 1988. Development was delayed due to cost, leading China to buy a Komandarm Fedko-class oiler, renamed Qinghaihu, from Ukraine in 1992. The new design was completed for Similan, which became the basis for the Type 903.^[4]

The Type 903 is a flush-decked development of the Type 905 AOR resembling the French Durance class.^[5]

There are two liquid and one sliding-stay solid transfer stations per side. Refuelling may also be conducted from the stern.^[5]

• 
  Taihu at Victoria, Canada.
• 
  Flight deck of Taihu.

• Saunders, Stephan, ed. (2015). Jane's Fighting Ships 2015-2016. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0710631435.
• Sheldon-Duplaix, Alexandre (2017). "China's Auxiliary Fleet: Supporting a Blue-Water Navy in the Far Seas?". China's Evolving Surface Fleet. CSMI Red Book. Vol. 14. United States Naval War College. ISBN 978-1-935352-45-7.
• Wertheim, Eric (2013). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems (16 ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591149545.