Pakistan Navy has held a keel-laying ceremony for the second Hangor-class submarine at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) facilities in Karachi.

The keel-laying ceremony took place on February 14.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf said that it is a matter of great pride to witness the keel laying of Hangor-class submarine at Karachi Shipyard in collaboration with China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd (CSOC).

He lauded the joint efforts and performance of Ministry of Defence Production, Pakistan Navy, Karachi Shipyard (KS&EW) and CSOC for the construction of these submarines.

As per the defence agreement between Pakistan and China for the development of 08 x HANGOR Class Submarines, 04 submarines are under construction at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry in China whereas the remaining 04 are being built at KS&EW under the Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement. This is the 2nd Submarine to undergo Keel Laying at KS&EW. Earlier, in Dec 2022, Keel Laying of first Submarine was successfully undertaken and currently, it is at the advanced stage of construction.

Text Courtesy: Naval News