KARACHI: Island class ships PMS Sabqat and Rafaqat were formally inducted to the fleet of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) in a ceremony held here at dockyard on Thursday.
The vessels having already served as essential components of US Coast Guards were delivered and commissioned to PMSA after a complete overhaul, with its staff also trained in USA.
PMSA Director General, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhter addressing the commissioning ceremony said the ships have been equipped with capabilities to effectively undertake patrolling, surveillance, search, rescue and other law enforcement related capacities.
Crew of these ships have been trained at US coast guard facilities, he told the guests attending the ceremony including Vice Admiral Tayyab Ali Doggar, the chief guest alongwith US Consul General to Karachi and other senior government and military officials.
PMSA Chief said the agency faced with growing challenges is constantly engaged in enhancing its capacities with major focus on crew training, acquisition of updated platforms coupled with maintenance and efficient support system
"A capacity enhancement plan already approved by the federal government is smoothly proceeding to meet emerging maritime challenges, law enforcement imperatives and national obligations related to search, surveillance and rescue," he said.
Rear Admiral Jamil Akhter said PMSA has made a record number of inductions in a single calendar year which is not only unprecedented in its own history but also went through challenging process to ensure their delivery capacities in any given time.
The Chief Guest Vice Admiral Tayyab Ali Dogar on the occasion said induction of PMSA Sabqat and Rafaqat, soon after the commissioning of three other maritime patrol vessels reflected the national priorities.
These inductions in a short span of eight months are also an acknowledgement of the professional capacities and commitments of the PMSA sailors and officials, he said.
He expressed his confidence that these platforms will surely strengthen the operational capacity besides streamlining the departmental plans of PMSA.
Dogar further appreciated that maritime security apparatus of the country was cruising up at a positive and consistent pace to the growing demands of maritime domain, particularly since the inception of CPEC.
The chief guest later visited different sections of the vessels and was briefed by the commanding Officers about their functioning.