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What’s to Become of the Soviet Carrier? The Mystery of the Varyag |
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“It could be a great tourist attraction … with pools, restaurants. It’s gold!” — Worker at Nikolyav Shipyard, Ukraine
“The whole of Southeast Asia would be nervous if China was to purchase an aircraft carrier.” — Glenn Schloss, South China Morning Post |
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ABCNEWS.com When the Cold War sputtered to an end nine years ago, there was a lot of talk about beating swords into plowshares. But poker chips? In one of the more bizarre tales of post-Soviet capitalism, a ship designed to wage war might instead be used as a giant pleasure craft, complete with casino and discotheque. It’s an unusual use of an aircraft carrier. Even more unusual are the buyers—four travel agents whose company isn’t where they say it is, and who seem to be on familiar terms with the Chinese military. Is something going on? Games of Chance The story begins in 1989, when the once-mighty Soviet empire began to fall apart. Many big government projects simply ground to a halt. One of them was a Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier called the Varyag, which was handed over to the new government of Ukraine. The Ukrainians didn’t know what to do with the 37,000-ton, three-quarters-finished ship, so they put it up for auction. In April, Ukrainian Trade Minister Roman Shprek announced the winning bid from a surprisingly small company called the Chong Lot Travel Agency Ltd.
Local reporters noted that this was “not the most normal use for an aircraft carrier.” But even stranger is the fact that even before the deal was announced, officials in Macao had warned the Chung Lot Travel that they would not be permitted to park the huge ship in their harbor. No One At That Address So, if Macao had already nixed the notion of a floating entertainment complex, why did Chung Lot go ahead with plans to buy the warship? ABCNEWS has learned that the Chung Lot Travel Agency does not have offices in Macao—at least not at the address they gave in their bid for the Varyag. In fact, there’s no such company listed anywhere in Macao. It turns out that Chung Lot is owned by a Hong Kong firm called Chin Luck (Holdings) Company. Four of Chin Luck’s six board members hail from the same area in China—Shandong Province—which just happens to be where the Chinese Navy builds its ships. And Chin Luck’s chairman is a former career military officer with the People’s Liberation Army. Coincidence? Who’s Buying? The question is, who really is buying this carrier? Four travel agents with a lot of money and a dream? Or are officials of Chung Lot Travel agents for somebody else?
If the unfinished, rusting hulk of the Varyag could help China develop something like the sophisticated modern carriers that the United States likes to send into trouble spots around the world, leaders outside of Southeast Asia would be alarmed as well. No one but Beijing is eager to see China projecting its power closer to Japan and Taiwan. On the other hand, no one’s going to worry if a few entrepreneurs turn the flat-top into a floating discotheque —even though Macao will follow Hong Kong and become part of China in December of 1999. The trouble is, Chong Lot has already paid the first $2 million for the Varyag. And we still don’t know what they’re buying it for.  |
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Why spend $20 million for an unfinished aircraft carrier, then tug it half way around the world to open a hotel/casino? (Magellan Graphix/ABCNEWS.com) 
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