China’s Armed Merchant Cruiser
December 29, 2025
In this episode, Sal Mercogliano — a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner — discusses the outfitting by the Chinese of Zhongda 79 as an armed merchant cruiser and discusses its potential applications.
#chian #navy #cruiser #zhongda79
Support What’s Going on With Shipping via:
Patreon: www.patreon.com/wgowshipping
Twitter: @mercoglianos
Bluesky: @mercoglianos.bsky.social
Facebook: @wgowshipping
Email: mercoglianosal@gmail.com
00:00 China Converts a Containership into an Armed Warship
03:17 Armed Merchant Cruisers vs Commerce Raiders
05:33 Why Did China Arm Zhong Da 79?
07:44 China’s Merchant Marine as a Naval Auxiliary Force
10:56 How does this compare to US Navy’s Battleship and Frigate programs?
13:03 Strategic Use and First Strike Capability
16:48 Cost Effectiveness and Expendability – Battleship or Armed Merchant Cruisers?
Marine Traffic
www.marinetraffic.com
Chinese Cargo Ship Packed Full Of Modular Missile Launchers Emerges
https://www.twz.com/sea/chinese-cargo-ship-packed-full-of-modular-missile-launchers-emerges
German WW2 Commerce Raiders
https://naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/german-commerce-raiders.php
Pentagon Annual Report on Chinese Military and Security Developments
https://news.usni.org/2025/12/24/pentagon-annual-report-on-chinese-military-and-security-developments-2
Alarming Navy Intel Slide Warns Of China’s 200 Times Greater Shipbuilding Capacity
https://www.twz.com/alarming-navy-intel-slide-warns-of-chinas-200-times-greater-shipbuilding-capacity
Mysterious Guided Rocket Launcher Disguised In A Shipping Container At Fort Bragg Identified
https://www.twz.com/land/mysterious-guided-rocket-launcher-disguised-in-a-shipping-container-at-fort-bragg-identified
Army Counter Drone System Pops Out Of A Shipping Container
https://www.twz.com/army-counter-drone-system-pops-out-of-a-shipping-container
What We Know About Ukraine’s Mass Drone Assault On Russian Bombers
https://www.twz.com/news-features/what-we-know-about-ukraines-mass-drone-assault-on-russian-bombers
Mind the Gap: How China’s Civilian Shipping Could Enable a Taiwan Invasion
Mind the Gap: How China’s Civilian Shipping Could Enable a Taiwan Invasion
Chinese Barge Usable For Potential Taiwan Beach Landings Seen In Action In New Image
https://www.twz.com/sea/chinese-barge-usable-for-potential-taiwan-beach-landings-seen-in-action-in-new-image
China Maritime Studies Institute
https://www.usnwc.edu/Research-and-Wargaming/Research-Centers/China-Maritime-Studies-Institute
Credit to : What’s Going on With Shipping?