Type 272 icebreaker

Type 272 icebreaker is the third generation icebreaker indigenously developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to replace its predecessor Type 210 icebreaker, and Type 272 has received NATO reporting name Yanrao class. Type 272 icebreaker is the improvement over earlier Type 210 icebreaker and it is larger than its predecessor. The pennant number of the first unit of Type 272 consists of two Chinese character Hai-bing, followed by a three digit number, and this pennant number is the same pennant number used by a first generation Chinese icebreaker Type 071 that retired in June 2013, five months before the start of the construction of the first unit of this first unit of Type 272 icebreaker in November 2013.