Keel laid for Pakistan Navy’s second Hangor-class submarine

Pakistan Navy has held a keel-laying ceremony for the second Hangor-class submarine at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) facilities in Karachi.

As informed, the keel-laying ceremony took place on February 14.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf said that it is a matter of great pride to witness the keel laying of Hangor-class submarine at Karachi Shipyard in collaboration with China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd (M/s CSOC).

He lauded the joint efforts and performance of the Ministry of Defence Production, Pakistan Navy, Karachi Shipyard (KS&EW) and CSOC for the construction of these submarines. 

As per the defense agreement between Pakistan and China for the development of eight Hangor-class submarines, four submarines are under construction at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry in China.

The remaining four are being built at KS&EW under the Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement.

This is the second submarine to undergo keel laying at KS&EW. Earlier, in Dec 2022, the keel laying of the first submarine was successfully undertaken and currently, it is at an advanced stage of construction.