TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Navy awarded a contract for six additional Min Jiang-class rapid minelaying ships to Lungteh Shipbuilding Co. on Wednesday.

Lungteh has already built four minelaying boats for the Navy, which were delivered between 2020 and 2021. The new ships are based on the same design and will be constructed for NT$1.55 billion under the “Yong Jie Project,” Liberty Times reported. 

Construction is set to begin next week and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Once delivered, the Navy will have 10 rapid minelaying boats to deter Chinese amphibious landings. 

The ships are approximately 40 meters in length and 8.8 meters in width, with a full-load displacement of around 376 tons. Each vessel can carry 32-64 domestically produced Wan Hsiang naval mines, deployed from four fixed mine-laying tracks at the midship and aft sections. Mines can be launched manually or remotely.