KARACHI, Dec 3: The British Royal Navy Ship, HMS ECHO, is paying an informal visit to Karachi from Dec 2 to 4. The vessel has been conducting military data gathering in the Northern Arabian Gulf since January this year as part of Britain's commitment to improve the safe navigation of both merchant and military vessels operating in an area that has not been surveyed to modern standards for many years, it was stated.

Despite having been commissioned for less than two years, the ECHO has spent half her time to-date in the Middle East performing a myriad of planned and short notice survey operations.

It was further pointed out that the time spent operating in the area had enabled the ship to demonstrate her versatility and value to the Royal Navy and coalition allies.

The ECHO is equipped with modern sensors capable of collecting data from every element of the marine environment. The survey produced utilizing her state-of-the-art integrated survey suite delivers a product far superior than anything previously seen.

The vessel has spent a couple of months out of the area participating in a joint five-powers exercise in the Far East. She is expected to return to the UK in late spring of 2005. -APP