KARACHI: Handing over ceremony of 32 Tons BP Tug built for Pakistan Navy, was held at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works. Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, Vice Chief of Naval Staff graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials from Government, Pakistan Navy, Corporate Sector and KS&EW.
The 32 Tons BP Tug has a 34 meter overall length with 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 operation of almost all sizes of ships and crafts of Pakistan Navy.
On the occasion, the Chief Guest Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat said that it is indeed a clear manifestation of the vision of Pakistan Navy to pursue self reliance in field of ship 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. He said that inception of CPEC project has created many opportunities for the growth of local industries. Public sector industries like shipyard should avail this opportunity and help create more jobs and play their role in national development, he said.
Earlier MD KS&EW, R/Adm Syed Hasan Nasir Shah in his welcome address thanked Pakistan Navy and MoDP for their continued support. He said that no foreign assistance has been sought for this project as it has been completed with self-sufficiency in all phases of construction. He briefed about the ongoing shipbuilding and ship-repair activities at KS&EW. He highlighted that presently KS&EW is undertaking 6 x shipbuilding projects. He further informed that first export order of 8 x sugar mill rollers to Philippines and Thailand through an American Company CSI, has also been delivered this year. Lastly, he said that each and every worker of Karachi Shipyard is ready, prepared and committed to complete these challenging projects on time while meeting all quality standards
