Pakistan: New ship inducted into maritime agency fleet

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan on Wednesday inducted a new ship it jointly built with China into the fleet of its maritime security force, an official statement said.

The ship “equipped with latest navigation and communication systems” was inducted into the fleet of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) at a ceremony held at Pakistan Shipyard in port city of Karachi, the statement by the agency said.

The 1500 tons ship named "Kolachi" (the old designation of Karachi) is the last of a series of four ships jointly produced by the two longtime allies, it said, adding the three ships had already been inducted into the PSMA fleet in recent years.

In a separate statement, Pakistan Navy said the vessel will be part of special force raised for security of strategic Gwadar deep seaport, and other projects related to multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

China has long been Pakistan’s largest defense partner with the latter’s growing reliance on the former in recent years following strained ties between Washington and Islamabad.

Pakistan sealed a $5 billion deal with China in 2016 for the acquisition of 8 Chinese Yuan-class type 041 diesel submarines by 2028 to “address force imbalance” with its arch-rival India.

Also, Pakistan Navy is going to induct new generation anti-ship Chinese missile-CM-302, which is capable of flying at three times the speed of sound - in 2021.