The mysterious Varyag – China’s first aircraft carrier?
Information Dissemination alerted me to the recent photos of China’s first aircraft carrier the ex-Russian, partially completed, Varyag. A little digging, and you quickly learn the peculiar story of China’s first endeavor into aircraft carriers.
For starters, the Varyag is a piece of legacy leftover from the Soviet empire. It was originally named the Riga when its keel was laid in 1985. The ship was re-named the Varyag when it was launched in 1988. By 1992, the ship still remained just an empty hull, with no machinery or equipment fitted. The fall of the Soviet Union led to the transfer of the ship to Ukraine where it was eventually laid-up unmaintained and stripped of anything valuable.
In part of the oddest of the ship’s history, it was sold at auction in 1998 to a Hong Kong based company called Chong Lot Travel Agency Ltd. The company planned on towing the ship from the Black Sea to Maccau where it would be converted to a floating casino and hotel. Despite this claim, many insisted that the Chong Lot Travel Agency was serving as a cover agency for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
Even the dead ship tow from the Black Sea to China was most unusual. Turkey objected vehemently to the ship transiting through the narrow Bosporus strait which left the ship being towed around the Black Sea in circles for nearly 16 months while negotiations ensued. Eventually the ship was allowed to proceed through the strait.
Shortly after exiting the Black Sea, the ship quickly ran into trouble. While caught in a storm off of Greece, the ship broke its tow and began drifting near the Greek island of Skyros. A number of different salvage efforts ensured and one person was killed during the salvage efforts. Eventually the ship’s tow was recovered, and the voyage continued around the Cape of Good Hope. The voyage lasted nearly 3 months, and the ship arrived in Dalian, China in March of 2002.
The conversion to a casino never occurred, although China insisted that the vessel was to be used as a casino. The ship languished at a pier in Dalian until June of 2005 when it was finally moved into a drydock where it was sandblasted and painted.
Since 2005, it appears more and more work is being done on the ship. The ships hull has now been painted a PLAN grey color and it appears in what is probably the best condition its been in since it was built. She was recently moved a short distance in the port of Dalian which is speculated to be for fitting out. Whether the ship is going to actually be used as an active carrier is still under speculation. The Chinese have previously announced their intention to build two new aircraft carriers at some point in the future. The ultimate fate of the mysterious Chong Lot Travel Agency and their casino plan is not clear.
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