In this episode, Sal Mercogliano — a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner — discusses the outfitting by the Chinese of Zhongda 79 as an armed merchant cruiser and discusses its potential applications. #chian #navy #cruiser #zhongda79Support What’s Going on With Shipping via: Patreon: www.patreon.com/wgowshipping Twitter: @mercoglianos Bluesky: @mercoglianos.bsky.socialFacebook: @wgowshipping Email: [email protected]:00 China Converts a Containership into an Armed Warship03:17 Armed Merchant Cruisers vs Commerce Raiders05:33 Why Did China Arm Zhong Da 79?07:44 China’s Merchant Marine as a Naval Auxiliary Force 10:56 How does this compare to US Navy’s Battleship and Frigate programs? 13:03 Strategic Use and First Strike Capability16:48 Cost Effectiveness and Expendability – Battleship or Armed Merchant Cruisers?