The Pakistan Navy has ordered a “multipurpose offshore patrol vessel” (OPV) from the Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards on Monday, June 12. The contract as signed by the Managing Director of Karachi Shipyards & Engineering Works (KSEW) Rear Admiral Hasan Nasir, an official from Damen Shipyards and the Director of Military Procurement (Navy) Commodore Shafqat Azad. The Netherlands’ Ambassador to Pakistan Jeannette Seppen and the Secretary of Defence Production Lt. Gen. (R) Syed Muhammad Owais were also present at the signing event.
In in its official press release, Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) states that the new OPV will have a length of 90 m, top speed of 22 knots and full-load displacement of 1,900 tons.
As per the MoDP, the multi-mission OPV “is especially suited for anti surface [and] anti air operations, maritime security operations, day [and] night helicopter operations, combat search and rescue, and surveillance and intelligence gathering operations.”
The OPV will be constructed at Karachi Shipyard (SEW).
