Odd Activity At Chinese Submarine Shipyard Draws Interest

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Odd Activity At ******** Submarine Shipyard Draws Interest

Satellite imagery shows unusual activity last month, including the sudden appearance of four crane barges, at a shipyard in China that builds submarines and other naval vessels, which might potentially be a sign of an accident of some kind.

Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the

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(CNAS) think tank and a retired U.S. Navy submarine warfare officer, was first to notice the goings-on at the Wuchang Shipyard. This yard, which is part of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), is situated along a stretch of the Yangtze River just outside the city of Wuhan. It was fully relocated from a site within Wuhan proper to its

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sometime

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.

PHOTOS © 2024 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION " data-src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gjwf8MhVyzQFxS.oMRvDEA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_warzone_735/0fee7c1f7efca81a4da84d58513b3ef1">

A satellite image taken on June 15, 2024, showing a cluster of four crane barges and other unusual activity at Wuchang Shipyard. PHOTOS © 2024 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

“An older image from 29 May shows nothing unusual – a presumably new-construction Yuan-class submarine (Type 039 variant) in the usual spot where newly-launched boats are fitted out,” Shugart wrote in a

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.

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/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Another view of the Wuchang Shipyard on May 29, showing a submarine moored in the same general location where the crane barges appeared some two weeks later. PHOTOS © 2024 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

The

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, also known in the West as the Yuan class, are some of the most modern

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in service today with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and versions are also offered for export. Wuchang is

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of variants of the Type 039A. The shipyard also builds various kinds of

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and supports other naval developmental work, including past

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. It

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, as well.

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A stock picture of a Type 039A or Yuan class submarine. via USN

“I acquired an [satellite] image [from Planet Labs] from June 13th. In the image, there appears to be what look like crane barges clustered around…something…near where the submarine was earlier,” Shugart continued. “Also, the floating pier where the submarine was moored appears to have been offset a bit.”

More recently I acquired an image from June 13th. In the image, there appears to be what look like crane barges clustered around…something…near where the submarine was earlier.

Also, the floating pier where the submarine was moored appears to have been offset a bit.

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— Tom Shugart (@tshugart3)

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Not satisfied with the clarity of that image, I waited a few days and got this one from 15 June, which is much better. It does appear that the crane barges were working on something ****** that is roughly submarine-sized and -shaped.

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— Tom Shugart (@tshugart3)

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The War Zone reached out to Shugart who gave us permission to write an article based on his research and he told us he unfortunately had nothing else to add beyond what he had posted on X.

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A satellite image taken in September 2022 offering a general look at the current location of the Wuchang Shipyard outside of Wuhan, China.

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Earth

A further review of imagery available from Planet Labs shows the cluster of four crane barges in place at least from June 12 through June 17. The submarine that had been in the berth in May is absent during those dates, but it is not clear when exactly it was last seen. By the first week of July, the barges are gone and activity at Wuchang appears to have returned to normal.

What the cranes might be working on is not readily discernable. Shugart

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that what initially drew his attention was a shadow cast by one of the cranes. Whether there is anything else below that shadow is not clear. What may be additional smaller boats or barges, or something else in the water, which might also be what the cranes are working on, are visible directly above.

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A closer look at the crane barges in the June 15 satellite image. The floating ***** is also visible to the right. PHOTOS © 2024 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

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An even more up-close look at the shadow cast by the crane at the left, as well as the objects in the water directly above it. PHOTOS © 2024 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

Regardless, the sudden appearance of a quartet of crane barges arrayed around the same general area where a submarine had been previously, with the space in between them roughly the length of a Type 039A, plus the presence of a floating *****, is unusual and raises questions about the possibility of some kind of incident. Floating cranes can be used to help right or otherwise stabilize vessels that have capsized or might be at risk of doing so, as well as to move debris. Booms are often used to help contain oil and other hazardous fluid leaks.

A potential accident at one of China’s more prominent shipyards, especially one involved in the production of new submarines, could be significant. Questions have been raised in the past about safety and quality control practices in ******** naval shipbuilding, which is

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, even when it comes to large and/or complex vessels.

“They’re [China] a ********** country, they don’t have rules by which they abide by,” Secretary of the U.S. Navy Carlos Del Toro

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at a hearing last year. “They use ****** labor in building their ships.”

Del Toro at that time was responding to concerned questions about U.S. shipbuilding capacity, or lack thereof. In recent years, the Navy itself has sounded the alarm about the ******** government being exponentially more capable of building submarines and other warships than the ******* States, as you can read more about

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.

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A briefing slide from circa the early 2020s from the US Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) that provides details about China’s exponential advantage in shipbuilding capacity over the ******* States. USN USN

Whether more details about what might have happened at Wuchang in June emerge ******** to be seen. ******** authorities are notoriously tight-lipped about accidents and other incidents at important state-run facilities even when there is the potential for

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.

The possibility of a more mundane explanation for the presence of the crane barges cannot be ruled out at this time, as well.

Whatever the case, the activity seen at the Wuchang Shipyard last month is curious.

Contact the author: *****@*****.tld

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#Odd #Activity #******** #Submarine #Shipyard #Draws #Interest

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