Asia Pacific
KSEW cuts steel on Pakistan's first MPV, as new details emerge
Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - IHS Jane's Navy International
04 May 2016
The steel-cutting ceremony for the first of six MPVs on order for the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency. A backdrop image used at the ceremony provides some design details of the platform. Source: Pakistan Armed Forces Inter Services Public Relations
Key Points
- KSEW has begun building the first of six MPVs for the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency
- The vessels will replace the Barkat-class patrol boats that have been in service since the late 1980s
Pakistan's state-owned shipbuilder Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) has held a steel-cutting ceremony for the first of six maritime patrol vessels (MPVs) on order for the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA).
New details on Pakistan's capability requirements for the vessels have also emerged.
The steel-cutting ceremony was held on 3 May and was attended by senior officials from the Pakistan Navy, KSEW, and China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSTC).
The MPVs, each displacing 600 tonnes at full load, are being constructed under a transfer-of-technology arrangement signed between KSEW and CSTC in June 2015. KSEW will construct two vessels in Pakistan while the remaining four will be built by CSTC in China.
No further details on the vessels were provided by KSEW in its media release for the ceremony; the company also declined an interview request from
IHS Jane's on 4 May, citing confidentiality issues.
However, a tender document on the MPV programme, published by the Pakistani government's planning commission, revealed a requirement for a platform that can attain a maximum speed of 30 kt and a cruising speed of between 12-16 kt. The vessel should also have a standard range of 4,500 n miles at cruising speed, and have an endurance of 21 days at sea without replenishment.
Armament to be fitted onboard includes either a 37 mm or a 30 mm gun as a primary weapon, in addition to mountings for two 12.7 mm machine guns.
An artist's illustration of the MPV, shown at the ceremony, suggests that the PMSA has opted for an automatic stabilised naval gun system as the platform's main weapon.
The illustration also suggests that the platform can accommodate a single helicopter on its flight deck on top of two rigid-hull inflatable boats at the stern section.
