The following is a translation from Chinese media:
Jane’s Defence Weekly has reportedly interviewed officials at the China Ship Science Research Centre and learnt from them that they are now developing various floating docks. In the 2014 International Shipbuilding Marine Equipment and Offshore Engineering Exhibition for China, they displayed the design drawings of their floating docks.
The floating docks will be built on the Chinese mainland and shipped to the destination island to assemble. There will be a bridge, with loading capacity for 10-ton trucks, to link the dock with the island. A multi-functional dock provides berth for a 1000-ton ship, maintenance of fishing boats, electricity, fresh water storage and supply, and collection, storage and supply of rainwater. There will be a variant to serve a half-submerged oil rig.
The floating docks have engines to move on their own but not for long distances. They can be used for light construction and maintenance of an island. They can also provide temporary residence for construction workers.
As they rely on fuel from outside for their operations, the centre is developing small windmill generators for them. They can also use the electricity generated by the large wind-mill generators on the island.Author’s note: Such large-scale construction and developments are certainly not merely for military purposes. China is committed to exploiting the energy, fishery, fish farming, alga farming and tourism resources on a large scale in the South China Sea. Source: mil.huanqiu.com “Janes: China plans to build floating docks to support its reclamation in the South China Sea” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)
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