Article Posted on : - Jun 17, 2011

The F-22P frigate. A file photo

KARACHI (BNS): Pakistan Navy has launched its fourth F22P frigate at the Karachi Shipyard on Thursday.

The frigate, the last of the series of warships being built with Chinese assistance, was launched during a ceremony at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW), the official APP news agency reported.

Pakistani Navy Chief Admiral Noman Bashir, who was present on the occasion, said that launching of the warship was an important milestone and “yet another example of unparallel Pak-China relations.”

Acknowledging the efforts of Pakistani and Chinese engineers and technicians for the construction of F22P frigate, he congratulated the China State Shipbuilding Company (CSSC) and the China Shipbuilding and Trading Company (CSTC), Hudong Zhongua and KSEW for launching the ship as per schedule.

China had delivered the third F22P frigate to Pakistan in September 2010.

The country has built three such frigates, PNS Zulfiquar, PNS Shamsheer and PNS Saif, which have been commissioned in the Pakistan Navy between 2009 and 2010.

The fourth frigate is being indigenously built at the KSEW in Pakistan. It is expected to be commissioned into service in 2013.

The new frigates have been designed to enhance Pakistan Navy's surface warfare capabilities.