China’s first aircraft carrier set out on a low-profile sea trial Wednesday, its first journey under the Chinese flag. The vessel was swaddled in mist as it departed the port of Dalian, which had narrowly escaped tropical storm Muifa Monday.

Military sources said that the trial is in line with the carrier’s refitting schedule and will not take a long time. Refitting work will continue after the vessel has returned to the port.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy behemoth is a former Soviet Navy aircraft carrier, which has been totally refitted for its new role as a platform for research and training.

“Anyhow, it’s an object of pride,” said a shipbuilding worker who identified his surname as Zhang, who worked on the ship’s hull, stayed up all night to watch the carrier began its first sea trial.

The carrier departed from the Dalian shipyard where workers have been refurbishing the ship. Dalian is some 80 nautical miles north of the sea battlefield where 117 years ago the first modern Chinese navy fleet was ferociously bombarded and later vanquished by the Japanese navy.

It is still unknown where or for how long the carrier’s first sea trial will last.

The Liaoning Provincial Maritime Safety Administration publicized a notice restricting navigation in waters off the Dalian coast, saying that vessels are forbidden from traveling through an area of sea 13.25 nautical miles wide and 22 nautical miles long in the northern Yellow Sea and Liaodong Bay from August 10 to 14.

“GREEN HAND”

The ship, formerly named Varyag, is an Admiral Kuznetsov Class aircraft carrier that is 304.5 meters long and 37 meters wide, with a displacement of 58,500 metric tons. Construction on the vessel was started by the Soviet Union in 1985. It was completed in 1992 except for its electronic components.

After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Ukraine took over the ship. In 1998, the vessel was bought by a Macao casino company in open bidding. Since March 2002, it has quietly berthed in the port of Dalian with its hull and deck painted PLA Navy grey. After arriving in Dalian, images of the ship were spread across the Internet.

The Chinese Defense Ministry responded slowly to speculation about China having an aircraft carrier despite widespread dissemination of snapshots of the ship. On July 27, the Ministry confirmed China’s aircraft carrier program, while emphasizing the carrier was only intended for “scientific research, experiment and training.”

Currently, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, India, Brazil and Thailand, operate a total of 21 active-service aircraft carriers.