China is advancing its maritime capabilities by converting the 97-meter cargo ship Zhongda 79 into an arsenal ship. Online images, shared by Militarnyi and citing Chinese agencies, reveal containerized launchers—loaded with up to 60 missiles—now installed aboard the vessel.At Shanghai’s state-owned Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding shipyard, the vessel now features installations supporting a broad array of weapons—including anti-ship, cruise, hypersonic, and anti-aircraft missiles.China’s navy, known as the People’s Liberation Army Navy or PLAN, has been focusing on increasing its vertical launch systems in an attempt to match the VLS capabilities of the US Navy.As per the reports by a UK-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, on December 20, PLAN has surpassed 50% of the US Navy’s firepower.
Taiwan war plan?
This development signals China’s strategic pivot toward rapidly converting civilian merchant vessels into potent warships, bypassing traditional naval construction timelines amid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The Zhongda 79 transformation exemplifies a “maritime militia” evolution, where containerised missile launchers turn ordinary cargo ships into floating arsenals. This approach leverages China’s vast commercial fleet, allowing surge capacity for blockades or invasions without depleting its blue-water navy, a tactic long rehearsed in PLA exercises simulating Taiwan scenarios.Such conversions form a cornerstone of Beijing’s broader anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy targeting Taiwan, where overwhelming missile barrages from improvised platforms could saturate US and allied defenses during a cross-strait assault. By upgrading ships like Zhongda 79, China blurs civilian-military lines, complicating international responses under laws like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This fits a pattern of dual-use innovations, including roll-on/roll-off ferries and fishing trawlers armed for gray-zone coercion, positioning the PLA for a high-intensity conflict by 2027 as signaled in recent defense white papers.Satellite images of Zhongda 79Satellite images of Zhongda 79 have surfaced online, though the exact date when they were taken remains unclear. The location, however, has been identified as Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s yard in Shanghai, which is also the construction site of the Sichuan Type 076 amphibious assault ship, hat is believed to have completed its second sea trials earlier this month.One of the satellite images shows Zhongda 79 berthed close to the Sichuan at the shipyard.According to the South China Morning Post, other photos show several containers on the freighter bearing the words “Plan for the maritime revival of the Chinese nation and the community of shared future for mankind in the ocean.”Another part of the phrase reflects a maritime extension of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s broader political concept of building a “community of shared future for mankind.””Zhongda 79′ upgrade As Militarnyi reports, had not been engaged in regular domestic shipping operations for some time. Between April and August, the vessel underwent refitting at a shipyard in Longhai. The ship has been docked at the Shanghai shipyard since August 2025, where the final stage of the container ship’s transformation into an arsenal ship is believed to have taken place.At present, the Zhongda 79 still retains its civilian status as it hasn’t been listed as a part of the auxiliary fleet by the PLAN.
