Overview
- Photos circulating online show a civilian container ship outfitted with containerized vertical‑launch modules, a Type‑1130 CIWS, multiple decoy launchers, and radar arrays mounted on stacked containers.
- Naval News reported independent confirmation of the vessel’s presence in Shanghai via satellite imagery captured on December 25.
- Open reporting places the ship in the Hudong‑Zhonghua shipyard area of Shanghai, with identification as Zhong Da 79 and a refit and mooring pattern tracked since mid‑2025.
- The specific munitions remain unknown, though open‑source assessments point to potential compatibility with CJ‑10, YJ‑18, and YJ‑21 classes, with possible SAM options if universal VLS standards are used.
- Experts highlight unresolved questions over systems integration and authenticity cues in the imagery, while noting prior U.S. DoD warnings and global precedents for containerized missile launchers.