KS&EW holds Keel laying ceremony of its Tug being built for Pakistan Navy

KARACHI, May 19 (APP): Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) here on Friday held the keel laying ceremony of its 32 Tons Bollard Pull (BP) Tug being built for Pakistan Navy.
Vice Admiral Arifullah Hussaini, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Projects), the chief guest on the occasion cited it to be another leap towards promotion of an indigenous and self reliant ship building sector in the country.
The Tug with a 34 meter overall length, displacement of 481 tons coupled with a maximum speed of 12 knots, is also fitted with a very robust fendering arrangement for tugging operations of almost all sizes of ships and craft.
Deputy Chief of Naval Staff appreciated KS&EW for achieving the important milestone and said that construction of 32 tons BP Tug is indeed a clear manifestation of PN vision to pursue self reliance in ship construction.
He acknowledged all out support of Ministry of Defence Production and strenuous efforts of Karachi Shipyard towards attaining this goal.
Vice Admiral Arifullah Hussaini said Pakistan Navy is pursuing new inductions of platforms with focus on indegenisation 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, he said.
Earlier, Rear Admiral Syed Hasan Nasir Shah, MD KS&EW in his welcome address said that a similar vessel was delivered to PN in 2014 which is performing exceptionally good.
He also gave a brief outlook of ongoing projects and said that presently KS&EW is undertaking 9 x shipbuilding projects which includes Fleet tanker for PN, MPVs for Pakistan Maritime Agency, Fast Attack Craft (Missile), Multi Purpose Barge for PN and Bridge Erection Boats for Pak Army.
MD KS&EW also thanked Ministry of Defence Production (Government of Pakistan) and especially Pakistan Navy for reposing confidence in KS&EW.
The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials representing federal and provincial governments, Pakistan Navy, corporate sector and KS&EW.