KARACHI: The first cargo ship carrying discounted crude oil from Russia has docked at Karachi port, the prime minister announced on Sunday.

In a tweet, PM Shehbaz Sharif said the ship will start unloading the oil on Monday.

“I have fulfilled another of my promises to the nation,” he tweeted while announcing the cargo ship’s arrival.

“Today is a transformative day. We are moving one step at a time toward prosperity, economic growth and energy security & affordability.”

According to MarineTraffic, a website that tracks shipping vessels, a Russian oil cargo Pure Point is currently docked at the Karachi Port. The vessel arrived at 5:42pm on Sunday from Sharjah’s Khor Fakkan port. The 183.9m long vessel has a carrying capacity of 49,511 deadweight tonnage.

The PM said this was the “first-ever Russian oil cargo to Pakistan” and hailed it as the “beginning of a new relationship” between Pakistan and Russia.

“I commend all those who remained part of this national endeavour & contributed to translating the promise of Russian oil import into reality.”

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2023