Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, April 11, 2014

China's fastest ship completes trial in South China Sea

China's version of the Russian Lun-class ekranoplan, a "ground effect" vehicle that can attain level flight just off a land surface, just finished its first ocean trial in the South China Sea, according to China Central Television.

Although the China-built Xianzhou 1 looks more like an aircraft, seaplane, or hovercraft, it is classified as a ground effect vehicle. Sanctioned as a maritime ship by the International Maritime Organization, the ship uses the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface known as ground effect to reach level flight near the earth's surface.

The ground effect ship is faster than any other type of vessel in the world. The Xianzhou 1 is 12.7 meters long and 3.9 meters high, according to the television report, with a maximum takeoff weight of 2.5 tons and cruise speeds between 140 and 160 kilometers per hour.

The Chinese plan to use the vessel as a patrol ship over the disputed maritime region claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea. In two hours, the Xianzhou 1 can travel a distance that would take an ordinary ship 15 hours to cover.

For more of the Watch China Times story:.wantchinatimes.com