‘Hai Yang Shi You’, a Chinese “spy ship”, has been spotted close to the Indian coast — 161 nautical miles off the coast of Paradip in Orissa .
The ship was located roughly northeast of Paradip port and is currently in the Bay of Bengal. The “research vessel” was tasked to get details including the depth and salinity in parts of the Bay of Bengal. These data are particularly useful for submarine activity in the future.
The ‘Hai Yang Shi You’ is a modern ship, built in Tianjin in 2015, and weighs about 2,000 tonnes. These ships have been regularly sent into the Indian Ocean by the Chinese Navy and currently, there are two other research vessels in the area. Here is what is known so far about the said ships.
- ‘Nanning’, a Chinese destroyer, commissioned just two years ago– is in the Gulf of Aden. Weighing over 7,500 tonnes, it is a top-of-the-line, heavily armed warship.
- Another “research vessel,” ‘Da Yang Hao’, is also in the Indian Ocean. A four-year-old ship, it was off Durban in South Africa on March 27 and has just left Mauritius.
- A third “research vessel,” the Xian Yang Hong, was opposite Port Elizabeth on March 27 and is leaving Cape Town for Singapore. Another modern ship– built in 2016– and weighs about 1,600 tonnes.
- Chinese vessel ‘Yung Wang 5’ had docked in the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota last August. The Hambantota port was built by the Chinese in the island nation. The ship’s docking had led to heightened diplomatic activity between India and Sri Lanka.
