The Type 837 tug with the NATO reporting name Hujiu (沪救, meaning Shanghai Rescue in Chinese) is a type of ocean-going tug that China developed for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Out of a total of 20 ships built in the 1980s by the Wuhu shipyard, 18 are still in PLAN service and all of them still remain active as of the early 2010s. One ship was exported to Bangladesh in 1984, and another was sold in 1995.
The ships in the type 837 series in PLAN service are labeled with a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a three-digit number. The second Chinese character is Tuo (拖), meaning tug in Chinese, because these ships are tugs. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is in service with; for example, with East (Dong, 东) for East Sea Fleet, North (Bei, 北) for North Sea Fleet, and South (Nan, 南) for South Sea Fleet. However, the pennant numbers may have changed due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention. Specification:[1]
- Length (m): 60.2
- Beam (m): 11.6
- Draft (m): 4.4
- Displacement (t): 1470
- Speed (kn): 15
- Rang (nmi): 2200 @ 13 kn
- Crew: 50
- Propulsion: two LVP diesel engines @ 1800 hp
- Armament: Provisions for heavy machine guns
| Type | Pennant # | Status | Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 837 | Dong-Tuo 836 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Dong-Tuo 837 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Dong-Tuo 842 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Dong-Tuo 843 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Dong-Tuo 875 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Dong-Tuo 877 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Bei-Tuo 622 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Bei-Tuo 635 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Bei-Tuo 711 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Bei-Tuo 712 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Bei-Tuo 717 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 147 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 155 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 156 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 164 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 174 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 175 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| 837 | Nan-Tuo 185 | Active | South Sea Fleet |