China conducts first carrier maintenance at Yulin

Vantor imagery showing CV 17 Shandong in a 370 m dry dock for maintenance at Yulin Support Base on Hainan Island. (Vantor/Janes)

Recent satellite imagery confirms that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) aircraft carrier Shandong entered a purpose-built dry dock at Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island in January.

This marks the first occasion that a PLAN carrier has undergone maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations outside the northern Dalian shipyard.

The development represents a significant evolution in China's carrier support infrastructure and operational posture in the South China Sea.

Janes analysis of a satellite image captured on 7 February shows Shandong in a 370 m dry dock with visible work on its flight deck, including the removal of deck markings and at least one flight deck section.

Theis suggests that substantial maintenance work is under way on the 70,000 tonne carrier, which has been homeported at Yulin since its commissioning in December 2019.

The utilisation of Yulin's carrier-capable dry dock facility, which became operational in 2022 after construction began in 2017, marks a departure from the norm with regard to the PLAN's carrier maintenance.

Till January 2026, Shandong and its predecessor, Liaoning, conducted all major maintenance periods at the Dalian Shipbuilding facility in Liaoning province.

Shandong previously returned to Dalian in March 2022 for its first scheduled maintenance period following commissioning, a procedure that took several months and included flight deck resurfacing and systems upgrades.

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