KARACHI: The commissioning ceremony of the state-of-the-art 2,300tonne corvette PNS Yarmook was held at Constanta Port in Romania on Saturday.

According to a statement, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Mohammad Fayyaz Gilani graced the occasion as the chief guest.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest underscored the importance of corvettes in the maritime domain. He said that the induction of these platforms would enhance the navy’s capability of safeguarding maritime interests.

The chief guest also lauded the professional competence of Damen Shipyards and their cooperation in delivering high-quality platforms in record time.

PNS Yarmook is an electronic warfare, anti-ship and anti-air platform with cutting edge self-protection and terminal defence systems. The ship is capable to perform a variety of maritime operations, transport helicopter and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations simultaneously. The second ship PNS Tabuk is expected to join the Pakistan Navy fleet by middle of this year.

The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chief Naval Overseer (Romania), diplomats from friendly countries, senior management of Damen Shipyards, Gorinchem and Galati and officials of the Ministry of Defence Production.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2020