Pakistan orders offshore patrol vessel from Damen

Pakistan’s defense ministry has signed a contract with Dutch ship designer Damen for the acquisition of a locally-built offshore patrol vessel (OPV).

The contract was signed on June 12 during an event attended by navy and company representatives and Dutch ambassador to Pakistan Jeannette Seppen.

According to the ministry of defense, the OPV will be built at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works Ltd..

The ministry did not specify the type of OPV that will be built, but said the vessel will have a displacement of 1900 tons (approx), and an overall length of 90 meters.

These specifications point to Damen’s OPV 1800. While slightly below the Pakistani specification measuring 83 meters in legth and displacing 1,800 tons, the OPV 1800 has a stated top speed of 22 knots which matches that from specifications.

Pakistan further said the vessel is suited for anti surface, anti air operations, maritime security operations (MSO), day & night helicopter operations, combat search and rescue (CSAR) and surveillance and intelligence gathering.