Why are 7 large mainland Chinese cargo ships sailing in the Taiwan Strait?

A fleet of large civilian cargo ships has sailed through the Taiwan Strait after heading south from the Bohai Sea off northern mainland China, prompting speculation about a possible joint amphibious landing drill with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The seven ro-ro, or “roll-on/roll-off” ships, with the Yantai-based Bohai Ferry Company in Shandong province, deviated from their normal shipping routes in the Bohai Sea, according to Maritime Optima, a live ship tracker.

As of Thursday, two of them – the Bohai Zuanzhu and Zhong Hua Fu Xing – had docked at the port of Quanzhou in the strait-facing Fujian province, while the remaining five were still in the waters near Quanzhou.

The Bohai Zuanzhu is Asia’s largest ro-ro passenger ship by tonnage and capacity, and can carry special vehicles that are extra-long, extra-wide and extra-high.

Compared to the PLA’s Type 075 amphibious assault ship, which can carry helicopters, tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles and has a displacement of 40,000 tonnes, Bohai Zuanzhu’s displacement is 35,000 tonnes.

South China Morning Post