Chinese ship “Green Island” comes to town
Pam Lloyd
Staff writer
September 25, 2006
Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) employees may see a “Green Island” in Esquimalt Harbour this morning.
Two ships from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the Qingdao, which means “Green Island” in Chinese, accompanied by the oiler Hongzehu will pass by Duntze Head at 9:15 a.m. and dock in dockyard for four days.
This will be Qingdao’s third stop on a goodwill tour of the Pacific region. Before sailing into Esquimalt harbour they visited Pearl Harbor and San Diego, where they conducted communication and search and rescue exercises with the United States Navy.
Commodore Bruce Donaldson, Chinese Ambassador Lu Shumin and Vancouver’s Consul-General Tian Chunyan will perform the ceremonial welcoming salute on the dais. The Naden Band of MARPAC and a guard of honour will greet RAdm Wang Fushan, deputy commander of the North Sea Fleet and ships' companies.
During the four-day visit RAdm Wang and senior officers may make courtesy calls to the Provincial government, the City of Victoria and the City of Esquimalt. Both ships' companies have jam-packed schedules; tours are lined up for the Victoria Chinese Public School, Butchart Gardens, the BC Maritime Museum and HMCS Algonquin.
Personnel Support Program (PSP) will host a day of sports events and friendly competition, followed by a closed barbeque. PSP has planned a basketball game at the Naden Athletic Centre (NAC) and a soccer game at the Colville pitch, both starting at 9 a.m. Following the games, PSP has organized a tug-of-war behind the NAC, with 15 competitors from the basketball and soccer teams taking on 15 sailors from the PLAN team.
The Qingdao, named after a city in eastern Shandong province, is a guided-missile destroyer commissioned in 1996. It is 149 metres (488ft) long, has a displacement of 4,875 tonnes (4,800 tonnes), and a top speed of 32 knots. The Qingdao’s next port of call will be Manila, Philippines, where they will be continuing their goodwill visit before heading home.
The ships are not open for public tours.
