The type 852 tug is the Chinese version of the formerly Soviet Roslavl tug that has been developed for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The differences between the Chinese version and the original Soviet version are minor, mainly in the modification of living quarters. For example, space used for milk storage has been converted for vegetable storage, and Russian-style ovens and stoves are replaced with Chinese types. An air conditioning system has been added for operation in warmer climates. These ships still remain active as of the early 2010s, despite their age. Ships in the type 852 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]
| Type | Pennant # | Status | Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 852 | Nan-Tuo 161 | Active | South Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Bei-Tuo 153 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Bei-Tuo 159 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Bei-Tuo 162 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Bei-Tuo 163 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Bei-Tuo 164 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Bei-Tuo 168 | Active | North Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 518 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 604 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 613 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 618 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 646 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 707 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 852 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 853 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 854 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 862 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 863 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
| Type 852 | Dong-Tuo 867 | Active | East Sea Fleet |
