Type 903 replenishment ship

The Type 903 combined replenishment ship (Chinese: 903型综合补给舰, NATO reporting name: Fuchi) is a class of replenishment oiler (AOR) built for the People's Liberation Army Navy, serving as a principal fleet auxiliary ship for blue-water expeditionary missions by the People's Republic of China. They resemble HTMS Similan, an AOR built by China for Thailand delivered in 1996.

Two original-design Type 903s entered service in 2003. Construction of the Type 903A (NATO reporting name: Fuchi II), a slightly modified design, began in 2010; the first Type 903As entered service in 2013, and a total of eight ships are currently in service.

According to Zhang Gang, chief designer of Similan, China started development of a new AOR in 1988. Development was delayed due to cost, leading China to buy a Komandarm Fedko-class oiler, renamed Qinghaihu, from Ukraine in 1992. The new design was completed for Similan, which became the basis for the Type 903.

The Type 903 is a flush-decked development of the Type 905 AOR resembling the French Durance.

There are two liquid and one sliding-stay solid transfer stations per side. Refuelling may also be conducted from the stern.

• 
  Taihu at Victoria, Canada.
• 
  Flight deck of Taihu.

• Saunders, Stephan, ed. (2015). Jane's Fighting Ships 2015-2016. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0710631435.
• Sheldon-Duplaix, Alexandre (2017). "China's Auxiliary Fleet: Supporting a Blue-Water Navy in the Far Seas?". China's Evolving Surface Fleet. CSMI Red Book. Vol. 14. United States Naval War College. ISBN 978-1-935352-45-7.
• Wertheim, Eric (2013). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems (16 ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591149545.