Naval Vessels Naming Regulation


The Naval Vessels Naming Regulation is a regulation that governs the naming of vessels of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. It was published by the PLAN on November 18, 1978, and was revised on July 10, 1986.

Nomenclature

The regulation states that surface combatants above cruiser class shall be named by the State Council on a case-by-case basis while others are named after geographical locations:
ShipNamed after
Cruisers and aircraft carriersChinese provinces
DestroyersMajor Chinese cities
FrigatesMinor Chinese cities
Nuclear submarinesChangzheng followed by a serial number
Ballistic and cruise missile armed conventional submarinesYuanzheng followed by a serial number
Conventional submarinesChangcheng followed by a serial number
Mine warfare shipChinese prefectures
Submarine chasers and corvettesChinese counties
Dock & tank landing shipsChinese mountains
Other landing shipsChinese rivers
Replenishment shipsChinese lakes
Research shipsChinese scientists
Training shipsChinese naval officers

Ship Prefixes

Neither the Chinese Government nor PLAN use ship prefixes internally. However, a system of ship prefixes similar to that of the West has been developed by many internet sources for similar classification:
CountryServicePrefixMeaning
People's Liberation Army Navy PLANSPeople's Liberation Army Navy Ship: Commissioned ships in PLAN, mostly warships & some auxiliaries.
People's Liberation Army Navy PRCNSPeople's Republic of China Naval Ship: PLAN owned ships manned by civilians, including most research ships.
China Coast Guard PRCCGSPeople's Republic of China Coast Guard Ship.
Governmental AgenciesPRCSPeople's Republic of China Ship: ships owned by various Chinese governmental administrative and regulatory bodies, all of which are subject to naval deployment.
Merchant MarinePRCMVPeople's Republic of China Merchant Vessel.