People’s Republic of China’s satellite tracking ship Yuan Wang 5 is now at the Suva Port to refuel and replenish her supplies.

Peoples Republic of China embassy third secretary, Chen Chen yesterday said the vessel was in the Suva Harbour for normal refueling and replenishment as usual.

“They will comply with all the anti-epidemic measures of Fiji, and no one will leave the ship or enter the country because of the global situation now,” Ms Chen Chen said.

The vessel has been calling into the Fiji waters the last three years. In the past it usually spent five days in port rest and replenishment. Yuan Wang-5, a satellite tracking ship features the gross tonnage of 22,686, dead-weight of 11,000 tonnes and length by breadth extreme of 222 meters by 25.2 metres.

The Yuan Wang class vessels are used for tracking and support do satellite and intercontinental ballistic missiles by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

It is important to note that Yuan Wang class is not a single class of identical design, but instead, a group of different designs grouped under the same series that share the one name.

They are thought to have a displacement tonnage of around 21,000 tons when fully loaded, with a crew of about 470 and a length of about 190 metres (620 ft).Yuan Wang 5 was built at the Jiangnan Shipyard; it has a displacement of 25,000 tones and withstands wind scale up to 12,

It was designed at the Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) based in Beijing, China.