Amusing history on the latest mothership to slip the berth:
Varyag (
Russian: Варяг) was to be an
Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole
aircraft carrier of the
Soviet Union. She was known as
Riga[3] when her keel was laid down at
Shipyard 444 (now Nikolayev South) in
Nikolayev December 6, 1985.
[4]
Design of the carrier was undertaken by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau.
[5] She was launched December 4, 1988, but she was renamed
Varyag (
Varangian) in late 1990, after the famous
Russian cruiser.
Construction stopped by 1992, with the ship structurally complete but without electronics. With the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, ownership was transferred to
Ukraine; the ship was laid up, unmaintained, then stripped. In early 1998, she lacked engines, a rudder, and much of her operating systems, and was put up for auction.
The Chinese
People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) purchased it at auction for US$20 million.
[6] It was widely reported that the ship would become a casino in the Chinese
SAR of
Macau. This has been proven incorrect as the ship is docked in
Dalian and painted PLAN grey. The Chinese Navy has reportedly named the carrier
Shi Lang and received delivery of the ship in October 2010.
[7] Defense News and Intelligence sources claim that the ship has been refitted and will be put through Sea Trials in the summer of 2011.
[8]