TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s first indigenously-built landing platform dock (LPD) is undergoing sea trials and is expected to be commissioned by the Navy in September, reports said Monday (July 4).

Yu Shan, the amphibious vessel named after Taiwan’s tallest mountain and manufactured by the country’s China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC), was launched in April 2021. It is entering the phase of open water tests before being delivered to the Navy as early as September of this year, per CNA.

The transport dock, whose pennant number is 1401, has a length of 153 meters, a beam of 23 meters, a hull draft of 5.8 meters, and a displacement of 10,600 tons. It is fitted with two TC-2N anti-ship missile systems, one MK-75 76mm cannon, and two MK-15 phalanx close range weapons systems (CIWS), and can carry up to 673 personnel.

Yu Shan features a deck large enough for two helicopters as well as amphibious assault ships and armed vehicles. It can carry out amphibious combat operations supporting Taiwan’s outer islands, and disaster relief missions, while it is also capable of serving as a makeshift field hospital.