KARACHI: The five-day multinational maritime exercise Aman-2025 saw its grand finale in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday with as many as two dozen ships of the participating navies, including Pakistan Navy, presenting a magnificent fleet review before the replenishment ship PNS Moawin carrying Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir and other dignitaries.

The army chief witnessed several impressive sea manoeuvres involving ships, boats and aircraft.

Being a replenishment ship, PNS Moawin presented a drill of refuelling two ships on its either side, simultaneously while moving. On its left, which is called the port side, was the frigate PNS Taimur and on its right side, called the starboard, was the destroyer PNS Tipu Sultan.

Both these war ships were also lined up for the international fleet review along with the ships of other navies.

PN and other participating navies present an impressive fleet review in Arabian Sea before COAS and other guests

With PN’s Sea King helicopters hovering over them, the fleet review was headed by PNS Tipu Sultan, which was followed by PNS Taimur and 13 other ships brought by some visiting navies.

The ships include China’s Plans Baotou-133 and Plans Gaoyouhu, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s HMS Jazan and HMS Hail, UAE’s Abu Dhabi (CVT) P-191, Malaysia’s KD Terengganu-174, Japan’s JS Murasame, Sri Lanka’s SLNS Vijayabahu, Indonesia’s KRI Bung Tomo-357, Iran’s Jamaran, Bangladesh’s BNS Somdura Joy and Oman’s RNOV Sadh.

More PN ships in the fleet review included PNS Hunain, PNS Yamama, PNS Babar, PNS Saif, PNS Himmat, PNS Alamgir, PNS Nasr, and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency’s Kolachi.

The Pakistani ships had their crew shout out the Nara-i-Takbeer Allahu Akbar as they passed PNS Moawin.

A flypast of Pakistan’s Sea King and Z-9 helicopters, P-3 Orion and ATR 72 maritime patrol aircraft, and JF-17 Thunder aircraft joined by Turkiye’s lone aircraft, an ATR maritime patrol plane shook the skies.

The army chief, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and other officials and dignitaries reciprocated with cheers and applause as the ships and aircraft passed and flew by.

More drills included a counter-piracy exercise where a Pakistan Navy ship was captured by pirates who were then overpowered by patrolling boats and the Sea King helicopters followed by depth charges fired by PNS Taimur and PNS Tipu Sultan to announce victory.

More firing, in fact target practice, was demonstrated when a huge tomato, called the ‘Killer Tomato’ posing a threat in the sea was targeted till it imploded.

Later, while speaking to the media, PNS Moawin Captain Humayun Yaqoob Awan said that the Aman Exercise has become a global platform for uniting international navies together.

He added that no navy can singlehandedly combat terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking, smuggling and other challenges at sea so it makes sense to join forces.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2025