KARACHI, April 28: A keel-laying ceremony for the second Small Tanker-cum-Utility Ship (STUS) was held on Monday at the Karachi Shipyard Engineering Works (KSEW).

Two ships of this type are being simultaneously built at the KSEW for the Pakistan Navy and are scheduled to be completed by next year.

These 47-metre vessels with 1,600 tons displacement will be able to perform various functions like replenishment at sea, provide support to the PN fleet in marine operations such as mine laying, torpedo recovery, search and rescue activities and logistic support to the coastal stations.

These ships will also be capable of carrying helicopter and equipped with steerable rudder propellers along with bow thrusters for a controlled positioning, modern navigation and a communication system necessary for its operations.

The federal minister for defence production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, lauding the efforts of the KSEW said that his ministry and the Pakistan Navy would extend all-out assistance to the Karachi Shipyard as a strategic industry and would help promote the shipyard’s role in self-reliance and indigenization of defence production

Earlier in his welcome address, the managing director of the KSEW, Vice-Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Rao, thanked the Ministry of Defence Production and the Pakistan Navy for their support to the KSEW.

He informed the audience that the Karachi Shipyard and its workforce were now fully rejuvenated and capable of undertaking the upcoming challenging tasks.

He said that the KSEW was striving to utilize its potential to earn foreign exchange through foreign orders as well.

The ceremony was attended by high-ranking civil and military officials.