In the just-concluded U.S.-South Korea "Double Dragon" exercise on the 18th of this month, the U.S. Mobile Landing Platform Ship "Montford Point" played the role of being a mobile offshore port, in which all supply transfers happened at sea. Cao Weidong, a military expert at the China Naval Research Institute, said in an interview with CCTV "Asia Today" that China has built similar equipment known as semi-submersible vessels. The tonnage of the ship, however, is much smaller than the United States’ "Montfort Point."
Cao Weidong thought that the semi-submersible vessel that China built has many similarities to the U.S. "Montford Point" in shape. They have to perform similar tasks for logistics. China’s semi-submersible vessels serve as a logistical support base, transporting logistical supplies and providing maintenance for combat ships and submarines. In the future, as China’s other naval equipment constantly gets updated, China will require semi-submersible vessels of greater tonnage.
Source: People’s Daily, March 25, 2016
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0325/c1011-28227085.html