China is building at least five new special purpose barges which appear tailor made for amphibious assault. The barges may provide the PRC (People’s Republic of China) with a unique way to offload large numbers of tanks directly onto Taiwanese roads.
Anyone wondering what an invasion of Taiwan might look like now has a fresh visual clue. Defence analysts watching Chinese shipyards have noticed an increase in a particular type of vessel.
A number of special and unusual barges, at least 3 but likely 5 or more, have been observed in Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China. These have unusually long road bridges extending from their bows. This configuration makes them particularly relevant to any future landing of PRC (People’s Republic of China) forces on Taiwanese islands.
Naval News has seen multiple sources confirming their construction, and has shared information with naval experts to validate our preliminary analysis. The consensus is that these are most likely for amphibious landings.
Unusual Barges Similar To D-Day Mulberry Harbours
Each barge has a very long road span which is extended out from the front. At over 120 meters (393 ft) this can be used to reach a coastal road or hard surface beyond a beach. At the aft end is an open platform which allows other ships to dock and unload. Some of the barges have ‘jack up’ pillars which can be lowered to provide a stable platform even in poor weather. In operation the barge would act as a pier to allow the unloading of trucks and tanks from cargo ships.
The Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) on Longxue Island has been a key part in China’s naval expansion. It is particularly associated with construction of unusual vessels including a very large uncrewed surface vessel and a light aircraft carrier.
The barges are reminiscent of the Mulberry Harbours built for the allied invasion of Normandy during World War Two. Like those, these have been built extremely quickly and to novel designs. Although there appears to have been a smaller prototype as early as 2022, the batch of these barges have appeared only recently.
A Possible Indication Of Readiness To Invade?
The construction of specialist barges like this is one of the indicators defense analysts watching to provide early warning of a potential invasion. It is possible that these ships can be explained away as having a civilian role. But the construction of so many, much larger than similar civilian vessels seen before, makes this implausible. There are several distinct designs of these barges which also points away from a commercial order. These vessels are only suited to moving large amounts of heavy equipment ashore in a short period of time. They appear greatly over-spec for civilians uses.
By H I Sutton
