At Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW), the second HANGOR class submarine’s keel-laying ceremony was held, marking another significant milestone in Pakistan’s indigenous submarine development effort.
Admiral Naveed Ashraf, the Chief of the Naval Staff, was the chief guest for the event. Eight HANGOR Class submarines are to be developed in accordance with a defence deal between Pakistan and China; four of the submarines are currently being built at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry in China, while the other four are being produced at KS&EW under a Transfer of Technology (ToT) arrangement.
At KS&EW, this submarine is the second to undergo keel laying. The first submarine’s keel laying was accomplished successfully in December 2022, and it is presently in an advanced stage of construction.
In his remarks, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf expressed his delight at being there for the HANGOR Class Submarine’s keel laying at the Karachi Shipyard, which was made possible by a partnership with China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co.
In building these submarines, he praised the coordination and performance of the Pakistan Navy, the Ministry of Defence Production, Karachi Shipyard (KS&EW), and M/s CSOC. As evidenced by the building of these cutting-edge submarines at KS&EW, the Chief of Naval Staff emphasised that indigenization is a major priority of Naval Headquarters strategy.
Karachi Shipyard is well aware of and entirely aligned with the goals set forth by the Government and Pakistan Navy in pursuing self-reliance in submarine construction, as he stated earlier during his welcoming address. This is according to Rear Admiral Salman Ilyas, Managing Director of KS&EW. We are committed to this national purpose, as demonstrated by these submarines. Additionally, he expressed his gratitude to the Pakistan Navy and the Ministry of Defence Production for their ongoing assistance and collaboration in completing the multitude of ongoing projects.
A number of senior government officials, including notable visitors from the MoDP and Pakistani armed forces, as well as representatives of the Chinese Embassy, M/s CSOC (China), and M/s WSIG (China), attended the ceremony.