Landmark export award for Pakistan fleet tanker project
By:
Published: 19 Feb 2013
Turkish technology and systems engineering house Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret (STM) – Stand 10-B05 in the Turkish Pavilion – has signed a contract with Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence Production to provide technical and material support for the construction of a new double-hull fleet tanker for the Pakistan Navy.
Signed in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on 22 January, the contract covers the detailed design of the new ship, which is to be built in country by Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW), together with the supply of a kit of materiel, integrated logistic support, training test and trials. STM will also provide consultancy and management support for the four-year programme.
The new tanker, displacing 15,600 tonnes and approximately 155m in length, will be equipped with replenishment-at-sea rigs for underway replenishment. It will also have a helicopter flight deck, allowing for vertical replenishment operations. A conventional all-diesel machinery plant, driving controllable pitch propellers, has been specified. The ship will be able to achieve a speed of 20kt.
The contract represents a landmark for STM, marking the first time that a Turkish company has been contracted to export ship design and engineering services to Pakistan.
K S EW (Stand 12-E32) has already built a number of warships for Pakistan Navy, but this is the first time that the yard will build a large auxiliary ship at its facilities. The local construction of the new tanker is in line with the Pakistan Navy’s goal of achieving greater self-reliance and the increased ‘indigenisation’ of defence equipment production.
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