The Navy's 83rd Fleet Successfully Completes Comprehensive Offshore Training and Visit Mission

Xinhua News Agency, Dalian, August 17 (Li Bingxuan, Zhang Wanying) The Navy's 83rd ship formation successfully completed its overseas comprehensive training and visit mission and returned home on the morning of the 17th.

This mission's formation consisted of the Navy's Qi Jiguang ship and Kunlun Mountain ship. A total of 970 trainees from the Navy Dalian Shipbuilding College, Navy Engineering University, and Navy Submarine Academy participated in the mission. Additionally, 19 foreign military personnel from 10 countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, were mixed with Chinese trainees for the training.

Since departing from a military port in Qingdao on June 15, the formation has navigated through the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Sea of Japan, and South China Sea, passing through the Tsushima Strait, Taiwan Strait, and Karimata Strait, lasting 64 days and covering a total distance of over 11,000 nautical miles. While completing teaching arrangements for terrestrial navigation and celestial navigation, the formation also organized trainees for on-the-job internships.

During the mission, the formation made friendly visits to four countries: Russia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Indonesia, conducting deck receptions, ship tours, and sports friendly matches with the navies of the visiting countries, as well as engaging in exchange seminars and cultural performances at local institutions, and organizing ship open activities for the local populace.

The Navy's Qi Jiguang ship, hull number 83, has a full-load displacement of over 9,000 tons and is a specialized training ship independently developed by China, primarily used for maritime internship training for naval academy students and personnel. The Navy's Kunlun Mountain ship, hull number 998, is the lead ship of the 071-class amphibious landing ship.