Handing Over ceremony of 32 T Bollard Pull (BP) Tug built for Pakistan Navy was held at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW) on Monday. Rear Admiral Ather Mukhtar HI (M), Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Project) graced the occasion as Chief Guest.
The Tug has a 34 meter overall length with a displacement of 481 tons. It has 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 crafts of Pakistan Navy.
On the occasion, the Honourable Chief Guest said that this project is indeed a loud manifestation of the vision of Pakistan Navy to pursue self reliance in field of ship's construction. He appreciated Ministry of Defence Production and Karachi Shipyard for their valuable contribution towards attaining goal of self-reliance in the field of ship building. He said that Karachi Shipyard is one of the few public sector industries which has made a remarkable turnaround in last decade and is playing a pivotal role in supporting all components of national maritime sector.
Earlier MD KS&EW, Rear Admiral Ather Saleem SI(M) in his welcome address thanked Pakistan Navy and MoDP for their continued support. He said that this project has been completed with self sufficiency in all phases of construction and no foreign assistance has been sought. He also briefed about the ongoing shipbuilding, ship repair and general engineering activities at KS&EW. He assured that each and every worker of Karachi Shipyard is ready, prepared and committed to complete all assigned projects on time while meeting international quality standards. The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials from Government, Pakistan Navy, Corporate Sector and KS&EW.-PR