North China Sea Fleet carries out first escort mission

The 11th naval escort taskforce of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) set sail from a naval port of Qingdao, east China's Shandong province, on February 27 for the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast to replace the 10th Chinese naval escort taskforce for escort missions. This is the first time for the North China Sea Fleet to participate in the escort mission since the PLA Navy carried out the escort mission in December 2008.

It is learned that the 11th Chinese naval escort taskforce is composed of the "Qingdao" guided missile destroyer, the "Yantai" guided missile frigate and the "Weishan Lake" comprehensive supply ship, with 2 ship-borne helicopters, 70 servicemen for special operation and over 800 people in total.

The "Qingdao" guided missile destroyer has taken part in over 50 major combat readiness exercises since it entered service in 1995. It has visited 19 ports of 17 countries on behalf of the PLA Navy, and is known as the "diplomatic star" ship. The "Yantai" guided missile frigate with a side number of 538 was commissioned in 2011 and boasts strong air-defense and anti-ship capabilities. The "Weishan Lake" comprehensive supply ship is a large supply ship independently designed and manufactured by China with a 23,000-tonnage displacement and used for ocean replenishment. It has successively engaged in escort missions of the 1st, the 2nd, the 5th and the 6th Chinese naval escort taskforces.