Type 614 research vessel


Type 614 research vessel is a type of Chinese research vessel in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy. The ship has two derivatives, one is in weather ship configuration, and the other in oceanographic research ship configuration.

Type 614I

The origin of Type 614I weather ship rooted back in March 1965 when requirement was first issued to the 708th Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, which is also more commonly known as nowadays. Initial design was completed in June 1965 and on June 28, 1965, design review was held in Beijing. In December 1965, the design was finalized and in February of the following year, construction begun in Shanghai, and was completed in December 1969. The ship was initially named as Xiangyanghong 01,and after Type 614 II and Type 614III entered service, Type 614 is renamed as Type 614I to avoid confusion because the term Type 614 is used to denote all three types. After decades of service with Chinese military and paramilitary establishments, it was transferred to Chinese coast guard. Specification:
Type 614II weather ship is an enlarged version of Type 614I, and it is longer than its predecessor. The propulsion is D39 engine, which replaced 8350Z engine on Type 614I, to reach an intended speed of 18 kt. Initial design was completed in 1966 and was finalized in May 1967. Decision was made to build two ship simultaneously in parallel, and construction for both ships begun at Guangzhou Shipyard International in 1968. Both ships were launched in mid 1971 and both entered service in May 1972.
Type 614II ships are named as Xiangyanghong 02 and Xiangyanghong 03 respectively. In May 1986, the 708th Institute carried out a major redesign of Xiangyanghong 02 to enable it to handle MAREX-740 buoy system, and the conversion work was carried out by the same builder, which completed the work in 1988. Specification:
Type 614III is the oceanographic research ship version of the Type 614 series, and it is based on earlier Type 614II weather ship. The 3rd Directorate of the 708th Institute completed the design of Type 614III in February 1970 and after changing the planned contractors for several times, Wuhu Shipyard was finally selected to build Type 614III. As with its predecessor Type 614II, the two ships of Type 614III were also built simultaneously in parallel with construction begun in 1971, launched in 1972 and entering service in September 1974. Type 614III ships are named as Xiangyanghong 07 and Xiangyanghong 08 respectively. Specification:
Original names of the ships in the table might have been changed after transferring to different governmental establishments.
TypeClassificationPennant #BuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedStatusFleet
614Iweather shipXiangyanghong 01Jiangnan ShipyardFeb 1967―Dec 19, 1969ActiveEast Sea Fleet
614IIweather shipXiangyanghong 02Guangzhou Shipyard International19681971May 1972ActiveSouth Sea Fleet
614IIweather shipXiangyanghong 03Guangzhou Shipyard International19681971May 1972ActiveSouth Sea Fleet
614IIIoceanographic research shipXiangyanghong 07Wuhu ShipyardJun 1971Apr 20, 1972Sep 26, 1974ActiveNorth Sea Fleet
614IIIoceanographic research shipXiangyanghong 08Wuhu ShipyardJun 1971Apr 20, 1972Sep 26, 1974ActiveNorth Sea Fleet