Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag

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Coordinates: 38°56′30″N 121°38′40″E? / ?38.941649°N 121.644391°E? / 38.941649; 121.644391

Speculated HQ-9 long-range air defense missile, YJ-91

Varyag was to be an Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole aircraft carrier. She was known as Riga^[2] when her keel was laid down at Nikolayev South (formerly Shipyard 444) in Nikolayev December 6, 1985.^[3]Design of the carrier was undertaken by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau.^[4] She was launched December 4, 1988, but she was renamed Varyag (Varangian) in late 1990, after the famous Russian cruiser.

Construction stopped by 1992 with the ship structurally complete but without electronics. Ownership was transferred to Ukraine as the Soviet Union broke up and the ship was laid up unmaintained, then stripped. In early 1998, she lacked engines, a rudder, and much of her operating systems. She was put up for auction.

Currently the ship is being examined and repaired by China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) after purchasing it at auction^[5]. It was widely reported that the ship would become a casino in the Chinese SAR of Macau. This has been proven incorrect as the ship is in a drydock in Dalian and painted PLAN grey. News reports state that the ship is being refitted to be made operational.^[1][6]

Contents

• 1 Role
• 2 Sold at auction
• 3 Towed to China
• 4 Eight years later
• 5 Speculation
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

[edit] Role

While designated an aircraft carrier by the West, the design of the Admiral Kuznetsov class implies a mission different from that of either the United States Navy’s carriers or those of the French Navy. The term used by her builders to describe the Russian ships is tyazholiy avianesushchiy kreyser (TAKR or TAVKR)—“heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser”—intended to support and defend strategic missile-carrying submarines, surface ships, and maritime missile-carrying aircraft of the Russian fleet. This designation allows the Soviet/Ukrainian Navy to circumvent the refusal by Turkey to let aircraft carriers pass the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

Fixed-wing aircraft on Admiral Kuznetsovs are essentially constrained to air superiority operations. Were Varyag to have become operational, it would have also carried out anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations, as well as carrying anti-ship missiles.

[edit] Sold at auction

In April 1998, Ukrainian Trade Minister Roman Shpek announced the winning bid—US$20 million from a small Hong Kong company called the Chong Lot Travel Agency Ltd. Chong Lot proposed to tow Varyag out of the Black Sea, through the Suez Canal and around southern Asia to Macau, where they would moor the ship and convert it into a floating hotel and gambling parlor.^[3] It would be similar to the attractions Kiev in Tianjin and Minsk at Minsk World in Shenzhen.

However, considerable evidence suggested that the future of Varyag was linked to the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its program to develop an aircraft carrier.

Before the auction was closed, officials in Macau had warned Chong Lot that they would not be permitted to berth Varyag in the harbor. The sale was carried out anyway. Chong Lot is owned by a Hong Kong firm called Chin Luck (Holdings) Company. Four of Chin Luck's six board members live in Yantai, China where a major Chinese Navy shipyard is located. Chin Luck's chairman is a former career military officer with the People's Liberation Army.^[3] However, the large involvement of former PLA officers is not necessarily a sign that the firm is a cover organization, because, for historical reasons, it is not unusual in mainland China for a company that actually is involved in tourism or travel to be controlled by former PLA officers.

Due to the poor condition of the hull, it was thought highly unlikely that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) would commission the carrier; rather, many analysts suggested that the PLAN intended to examine the carrier as a model for an indigenous carrier to be built later. Others countered that the carrier did not represent modern technology; the PLAN could probably have learned all they needed from the Varyag without towing it all the way to China.^[3]

[edit] Towed to China

In mid-2000, the Dutch ITC tugboat Suhaili with a Filipino crew was hired to take Varyag under tow. However, Chong Lot could not get permission from Turkey to transit the dangerous Bosporus strait; under the Montreux Treaty of 1936 Turkey has obligations to permit free passage, but has certain sovereignty and refusal rights. The hulk spent 16 months under commercial tow circling in the Black Sea. High-level PRC government ministers conducted negotiations in Ankara on Chong Lot's behalf, offering to allow Chinese tourists to visit cash-strapped Turkey if the travel agency's ship were allowed to pass through the straits. On 1 November 2001, Turkey finally relented from its position that the vessel posed too great of a danger to the bridges of Istanbul, and allowed the transit.

Escorted by 27 vessels including 11 tug boats and three pilot boats, Varyag took six hours to transit the strait; most large ships take an hour and a half. The Russian press reported that 16 pilots and 250 seamen were involved. At 11:45am on 2 November, she completed her passage and made for Gallipoli and Çanakkale at 5.8 knots (10.7 km/h). She passed through the Dardanelles without incident.

On November 3, Varyag was caught in a force 9 gale and broke adrift while passing the Greek island of Skyros. Sea rescue workers tried to re-capture the hulk, which was drifting toward the island of Evia. The seven-member crew (three Russians, three Ukrainians and one Filipino) remained on board as six tugboats tried to reestablish their tow. However, after many failed attempts to reattach the lines, a Greek coast guard rescue helicopter landed on Varyag and picked up four of the seven crew. One tug managed to make a line fast to the ship later in the day, but high winds severely hampered efforts by two other tugs to secure the ship. On 6 November, Aries Lima (reported as both Dutch and Portuguese), a sailor from the tug Haliva Champion, died after a fall while attempting to reattach the tow lines. On 7 November, the hulk was taken back under tow and progress resumed at some three knots.

The Suez Canal does not permit passage of "dead" ships — those without their own on-board power source — so the hulk was towed through the Straits of Gibraltar, around the Cape of Good Hope, and through the Straits of Malacca. The tugs towing the hulk maintained an average speed of 6 knots (11 km/h) over the 15,200-nautical-mile (28,200 km) journey, calling for bunkers and supplies at Piraeus, Greece; Las Palmas, Canary Islands; Maputo, Mozambique; and Singapore en route. They entered Chinese waters on 20 February 2002, and arrived 3 March at Dalian Shipyard in northeastern China. China continued to assert that Varyag would be a casino. However, when Macau awarded new casino licenses in February 2002, Chong Lot was not among successful bidders. The hulk was tied up at Dalian and left to rust. The total cost of acquiring the hulk was over $30 million USD: $25 million to the Ukrainian government for the hull, nearly $500,000 in transit fees, and some $5 million for the towing.

[edit] Eight years later

After little activity for three years, Varyag was moved in early June 2005 to a dry dock at Dalian (38°56′29″N 121°38′41″E? / ?38.9414°N 121.6447°E? / 38.9414; 121.6447? (Varyag)). Her hull was sandblasted and scaffolding erected around her. The most visible modification done to the Varyag is that her island has been painted in a red marine primer that is used to treat corroded metal. On April 27, 2009, Varyag left her location and was moved to a drydock some 2 miles from its previous position, possibly for more intensive work such as the fitting of the power plant and other systems^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Speculation

Analysts believe that the PLAN will use Varyag as a training platform for carrier take-offs and landings. Robert Karniol, the Asia editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, said: "The Chinese haven't seen this type of carrier before and it could be very useful to them. They are trying to vacuum up as much know how as they can."^{[cite this quote]} Liu Huaqing, a senior admiral of the PLAN and proponent of naval modernization, has spoken of the 21st century as the "century of the sea" and called for naval modernization over several decades. At the same time, there has been resistance within the PLAN towards Liu Huaqing's vision for an extensive Chinese navy, leading to constant debates between developing aircraft carriers and submarines.

Nevertheless, it was painted in PLAN grey in 2005. On 24 October 2006, the Kommersant online daily newspaper revealed Russia plans to sell up to 50 Su-33 fighters in a $2.5 billion deal. The deal has gone through according to the February 2007 issue of Air Forces Monthly.^{[cite this quote]} Also recent photos in the Dalian Shipyard have shown that a yellow anti-skid primer was added to the flightdeck. Then the final flight deck turf layering was added on top of it. The vessel has also been painted in the standard PLA Naval colours. This may indicate that the PLA Navy intend to use the ex-Varyag as an operational carrier at some point in the future.

Jane's Fighting Ships states that Varyag may have been named Shi Lang and assigned pennant number 83. Jane's notes that both the name and pennant number are unconfirmed, however. Shi Lang was a Ming-Qing Dynasty admiral who conquered Taiwan in 1681 (one fact often overlooked by Western media is, however, that in doing so he betrayed the remnant of Ming Dynasty in support of a regime founded by what was then considered as an external invader, thus creating a controversy amongst historians).^[7] Jane's Navy International noted in October 2007 that 'refurbishment work and fitting out is continuing and the vessel is expected to begin initial sea trials in 2008.'^[6] At the end of 2008, the Asahi Shimbun reported that the carrier was 'nearing completion'.^[1] On April 27, 2009 Varyag was reported to have been moved into another dry dock, 'apparently to install engines and other heavy equipment'.^[8] A new radar mast has been installed on Varyag's superstructure as of December 15, 2009.^[9]

[edit] See also

• Future Chinese aircraft carrier
• List of aircraft carriers
• List of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200812310046.html
2. ^ "The Self-Designing High-Reliability Organization: Aircraft Carrier Flight Operations at Sea." Rochlin, G. I.; La Porte, T. R.; Roberts, K. H. Footnote 39. Naval War College Review. Autumn, 1987, Vol. LI, No. 3.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "China's Aircraft Carrier Ambitions: Seeking Truth from Rumors." Storey, I.; Ji, Y. Naval War College Review. Winter 2004, Vol. 57, No. 1.
4. ^ http://www.russiafile.com/varyag.htm
5. ^ "Varyagworld". http://www.varyagworld.com/. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Jon Rosamond, 'China completes joint exercise with UK aircraft carrier,' Jane's Navy International, November 2007, p.6
7. ^ Saunders, Stephen (editor) (2007). Jane's Fighting Ships Vol. 110, 2007-2008. Coulsdon: Jane’s Information Group. pp. 122. 
8. ^ http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/Chinese-Carrier-Goes-Into-Dry-Dock-5-14-2009.asp
9. ^ http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htnavai/articles/20091217.aspx

[edit] External links

• varyagworld.com
• Transformation of the Varyag into a PLAN Aircraft Carrier
• Varyag article on sinodefence.com
• Actual physical location in the World
• Satellite Photo of Varyag in in Dalian, China from Google Maps