Type 637 tanker

Type 637 tanker is a type of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Originally designed as a type that is capable of transport both water and oil, these ships entered civilian service from 1981 onward, followed by military service, with the oiler version entered service with PLAN first (as of 2015).Type 637 tanker has received NATO reporting name Fuxiao class. Type 637 tankers in PLAN service are designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by three-digit number. The second Chinese character is You (油), meaning oil in Chinese, because these ships are classified as oilers. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East (Dong, 东) for East Sea Fleet, North (Bei, 北) for North Sea Fleet, and South (Nan, 南) for South Sea Fleet.