Background
The Fusu (Nancang) class is the result of the 2nd stage of the development of the Chinese fleet replenishment ship. Although considered somewhat successful, the Fuqing (Taikang) class replenishment oilers could not completely satisfy the requirement of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). One of the primary drawbacks of this class is that they are mainly for replenish liquid supplies, i.e. fuel and water. These ships of the 1st stage of the development of Chinese replenishment ships could only replenish extremely limited dry supplies, and are virtually incapable of resupply ammos, because the Chinese industry at the time lacked the capability to provide sounding safety measures for resupplying and storing ammos with fuels. This is one of the two primary constrains that despite the fact that on August 28, 1977, the Central Military Commission (People's Republic of China) ordered the resumption of the development of fleet replenishment ship that is capable of one-stop replenishment, (i.e. being capable of resupply ammos, fuels, water, and solid supplies together by a single ship, a concept first pioneered by United States Navy), the project was eventually put on hold.
The other primary constrain was a financial one, as Chinese economy was near the verge of total collapse resulting from the Cultural Revolution. Eventually, as the Economic reform in the People's Republic of China that first begun in 1979 rapidly improved Chinese economy, the 2nd stage of the development of the Chinese fleet replenishment ship was resumed in 1988, after around a decade of dormancy. PLAN had a lot of expectations for the new class of ship: in addition to being capable of one-stop replenishment, the new ship was also required to be a hospital ship. However, to meet such high expectation of PLAN, the cost was driven up multiple times. As the design was completed, the price tag of the proposed new ship exceeded what PLAN could afford and the project was in danger of being canceled again.
Read more about this topic: Fusu Class Replenishment Ship
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