Posted on 01/19/2015 9:20:46 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
It was a mission like no other. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, one businessman armed with cash and a casino cover story scooped the world to buy the unfinished hulk of a Ukrainian aircraft carrier that would become the centrepiece of the PLA Navy.
Speaking to the media for the first time, the Hong Kong-based businessman at the heart of the undertaking reveals in a two-part series the details of the little-known, behind-the-scenes odyssey to realise China's long-held dream of owning such a warship.
Xu Zengping disclosed that the militarily sensitive original engines of the carrier were intact when Ukraine sold the vessel in 1998. This is contrary to what Beijing told the world at the time.
The "four intact engines had been perfectly grease-sealed" after work stopped on the vessel in 1992, presenting an enticing engineering package for a country seeking a leg up for its military.
It is the first time anyone linked to the deal has confirmed publicly the engines were in place at the time of purchase. Earlier reports said the vessel's power generation system was removed at Ukraine's Nikolayev South Shipyard on the Black Sea along with its electronics and weaponry before Xu bought it in 1998 for US$20 million.
"When I was taken to the carrier's engine room by the shipyard's chief engineer, I found all four engines were brand new and carefully grease-sealed, each of them originally costing US$20 million," Xu said. He said a refit finished in 2011 restored the four engines to operating condition.
What is now called the Liaoning was built on the hull of the partially completed Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier, the Varyag. The Black Sea shipyard was about two-thirds of the way through the vessel's construction when work stopped as the Soviet Union crumbled. The hull languished until Xu made the deal, acting as a middleman for interests within the PLA Navy.
Xu said the shipyard agreed to sell the vessel because of the political turmoil that had left it in dire financial straits.
"The Chinese side deliberately released false information about the removal of the engines to make it easier for Xu and the shipyard to negotiate," a source familiar with the deal told the South China Morning Post.
Western media also reported that the United States pressured Ukraine to remove everything on board the carrier, selling only the hull to the Chinese buyer, the source added.
A retired PLA Navy colonel said it was "very likely" that the Liaoning was still using the original Ukrainian engines. "The Ukrainian engine technology is better than China's," the retired officer said. "It's my understanding that our navy later sought help from Ukraine to get the carrier engines, which had been sealed up for years, up and running."
Buying the carrier was just the start. It took another four years to tow it from Ukraine to Dalian in Liaoning province, and more than a decade to fit it out.
Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong said that after years of negotiations, the Black Sea shipyard also transferred their engine technology to China's Harbin Turbine Company, a manufacturing plant specialising in military boilers, turbines and steam equipment.
There were signs that the engines had been improved.
"The original propulsion system designed for the Liaoning was the same as that of the Russian Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier with a top speed of 32 knots. But the Liaoning is 6,000 tonnes heavier, so logically it would be slower," Wong said. "But recent sea trials showed the Liaoning's top speed was as fast as 32 knots, indicating its propulsion system has been upgraded."
The carrier was renamed Liaoning when it was formally delivered to the PLA in September 2012 and so far has been used only for training.
Its pennant number - a type of naval identification - is 16. "Do you know why the Liaoning has been numbered 16?" Xu asked. "It was because we spent 16 years getting the job done, from making the deal to rebuilding it."
More pics and story links at source!
Later
“Their learning curve will be steep, but I have no doubt they’ll become proficient with that ship.”
Don’t be so sure. The Russians have a hard time keeping their carriers functioning.
I used to read a certain military author until one book described the Iranians proficiently landing on a carrier. I couldn’t help but laugh and put the book down. I never read a page of any of his books again.
Top speed of 32 knots.....that’s so cute. They will have troubles recovering an aircraft with a flap problem in light winds.
This story can’t be right. After all we had all the FR posters who gobbled up all the casino/ hotel BS and who downplayed the idea that the Chinese could ever deploy a carrier. And those buck-toothed four-eyed little Nips could never be any threat to our mighty Pacific Fleet battleship force either.
Incidentally, I think they got the “hotel/casino” cover story because that was an idea put forward upon the retirement of the destroyer killer HMAS Melbourne.
Confucius say man who gamble for ship have all hands on deck.
A Chinese patriot—but will this new carrier be of any use to Red China in the future? Maybe we need to sell afew overaged Carriers to Japan...Just a thought.
ping...
I don’t undersell the Chinese. Money can buy a lot of things when you are making it hand over fist.
Including expertise...though I will say I thought it was a little odd to include the “Zinc Chromate Primer” part on comment about non-skid.
It just struck me as an odd detail. “South China Morning Post” was the source? Heh, well, we have our own people at the NYT who refer to a destroyer as a battleship...
i think the primer comment was bogus or simply a in error, what if did find interesting was the buying it as a casino scam that went unnoticed/unchallenged buy out side at the time question: if you do a view image and enlarge it, do think the object on the boom coming off the right side of the ramp is just a camera or is there another function???
You sent me off on a quest to find out the top speed of a Nimitz Class carrier. No definite answer, but the published 'more than 30 knots' is being very coy. They go like hell, and probably have an acoustic signature that's detectable a thousand miles away at those speeds. :-)
BTW, if you check out the Wiki entry on the Melbourne and especially the segment on the sale of the carrier to the Chinese for scrapping you might find that pretty interesting.
Why did it take 4 years to move it from Ukraine to China? Did they walk it around with slave labor and long haul lines?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.