The keel laying ceremony of Fast Attack Craft (Missile) No. 4 being built for Pakistan Navy was held at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) here on Thursday. Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah the Chief of the Naval Staff was the chief guest on the occasion, said a press release of Pakistan Navy (PN).
Fast Attack Craft (Missile) is a state of the art, multi mission vessel with steel hull and aluminum super structure equipped with indigenously developed weapons and sensors.
Speaking on the occasion, the Naval Chief highly appreciated the achievement of this important milestone ahead of schedule. He said that the indigenous construction of this Craft is a giant leap towards self reliance as the construction of this war ship will not only open new avenues of design and ship-building but also accelerate our progress towards achieving the goal of indigenization.
This project once completed, will demonstrate Maritime Technologies Complex and Karachi Shipyard's design and construction capability in entirety.
Highlighting geo-strategic and socio-economic significance of CPEC the Naval Chief said that the trade activities are poised to increase manifold with the developments taking place on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project which has the potential to transform Pakistan into a regional economic hub.
This would place additional premium on the responsibilities of Pakistan Navy to ensure safe and secure maritime environment for uninterrupted maritime activities to take place.
FAC (M)-4 will add to Pakistan Navy's operational capability upon its induction. He also assured PN all possible support to KS&EW to make this strategic setup in transforming as a vibrant, productive and strategic element of the maritime sector. He further said that we are pursuing establishment of new shipyards with government to further boost our ship-building industry.
Earlier Rear Admiral Syed Hasan Nasir Shah MD KS&EW in his welcome address said that this project being the first indigenous design is a result of strenuous hard work by Karachi Shipyard and Maritime Technologies Complex, which gave enough confidence to undertake such a challenging project. He also highlighted that the ship will serve our country for decades as national symbol of our indigenous efforts. He gave a brief outlook of ongoing projects which included PN Fleet Tanker, FAC (M) No. 3, MPVs for PMSA, Bollard Pull Tugs, Multi Purpose Barge and Bridge Erection Boats to Pak Army.
He also highlighted KS&EW's future plans and said that we have started preparation for the mega project of construction of submarines for PN.
MD KS&EW thanked Ministry of Defence Production, especially Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zakaullah for his visionary approach and solid support behind all projects.
The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials from GoP, Pakistan Navy, corporate sector and KS&EW.