Keel laying ceremony of 32 Tons Bollard Pull (BP), Tug being built for Pakistan Navy, was held at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) on Friday. Vice Admiral Arifullah Hussaini, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Projects) graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials from government, Pakistan Navy, corporate sector and KS&EW.
The tug has a 34 meter overall length with a displacement of 481 tons. It has a maximum speed of 12 knots and propelled by 2 x Diesel Engines and same number of Azimuth Thrusters. It is fitted with a very robust fendering arrangement for all round tugging operations of almost all sizes of ships and craft.
On the occasion, the honourable Chief Guest said that construction of 32 Tons BP Tug is indeed a loud manifestation of PN vision to pursue self reliance in ship construction. He appreciated Ministry of Defence Production & Karachi Shipyard for their valuable contribution towards attaining this goal. He highlighted that Pakistan Navy is pursuing new inductions of platforms with focus on inland construction and is continuously awarding contracts to KS&EW for construction of ships. This will not only ensure timely availability of required ships for PN but will also go a long way in consolidating the shipbuilding industry in Pakistan.
Earlier MD KS&EW, Syed Hasan Nasir Shah in his welcome address said that a similar vessel was delivered to PN in 2014 which is performing exceptionally good. As a result, PN has awarded contract for construction of 02 more tugs. He added that construction of both the tugs has been started and today we are performing keel laying of first tug. He gave a brief outlook of ongoing projects and said that presently KS&EW is undertaking 9 shipbuilding projects which includes 17000 Tons Fleet Tanker for PN, 1500 and 600 Tons MPVs for PMSA, FAC(M) No. 3 & 4, 2 x 32 Tons BP Tugs, Multi Purpose Barge for PN and Bridge Erection Boats for Pak Army. Ship Repair Div is also fully occupied and all graving docks are booked till mid next year. On General Engineering side, KS&EW is undertaking construction of 7 x Over Head Cranes for Pak Railway and has secured order of refurbishment of 23 sugar mill rollers.
MD KS&EW thanked Pakistan Navy, Ministry of Defence Production and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency for reposing confidence in KS&EW. He also expressed his profound gratitude to Chief of the Naval Staff for his keen personal interest in revival of this national asset. He assured that KS&EW will leave no stone unturned in meeting the expectations of nation and Pakistan Navy.-PR
Comments
Comments are closed.