KARACHI: The steel cutting ceremony of 16 T Bollard Pull Pusher Tugs, being built for Pakistan Navy, was held at Karachi Shipyard & Enginee­ring Works on Thursday.

The tug has an overall length of 21 metres with a displacement of 255 tons. It has maximum speed of 10 knots, propelled by two diesel engines. It is fitted with a very robust fendering arran­gement for all-round tugging operations. It has also a unique fendering below waterline to ensure safe movements of submarines.

The ceremony was attended by Commander of Coast Vice Admiral Muha­mmad Fayyaz Gilani HI(M) who was the chief guest. He said it was indeed a loud manifestation of indigenisation policy being pursued by the Ministry of Defence production. He also appreciated Karachi Shipyard for their valuable contribution towards attaining the goal of self-reliance in the field of ship building.

He highlighted an important segment of marine industry i.e. fishing industry and said that KS&EW has full capacity to construct modern fishing trawlers/boats and urged provincial governments to revamp this area through potential of this solitary shipyard of the country.

Earlier, the MD of KS&EW, Rear Admiral Ather Saleem SI(M), in his welcome address thanked Pakistan Navy and MoDP for their continued support. He said that in the past KS&EW constructed various tugs ranging from 10 to 40 tons Bollard Pull capacities.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2019