China building third aircraft carrier: think tank

Recent satellite photographs indicate China’s construction of its third aircraft carrier is well underway, a Washington think tank reported Tuesday. ChinaPower, a unit of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published photos of a large vessel under construction at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. The bow and hull are already under assembly, the pictures indicated, and are likely to be the beginnings of the 80-85,000 tonne type 002 aircraft carrier the Chinese navy has been known to be planning.

“Visible through the clouds and mist is what looks to be a bow and main hull section of a large vessel,” ChinaPower said. China’s first carrier, the threedecade-old, 66,000 tonne Liaoning, was Soviet- built and acquired from Ukraine in 1998. The second, a home-built carrier designated Type 001A and based on the Liaoning’s design began sea trials, one year ago.

ChinaPower said that, based on the photos, the Jiangnan shipyard appears to be building a new tower crane, a floodable ship basin and a launching channel to accommodate the huge new carrier. In a report published online, ChinaPower said the carrier is expected to be completed in 2022.