The Commissioning Ceremony of state of the art 2300 Tons Corvette Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) YARMOOK was held at Constanta Port, Romania on February 13, 2020. Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Muhammad Fayyaz Gilani graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Guest under scored the importance of corvettes in the maritime domain. saying that induction of these platforms will act as force multipliers in enhancing Navy’s capability of safeguarding maritime interests. He also lauded the professional competence of M/s DAMEN Shipyards (a Dutch ship manufacturing company which builds innovative ships of excellent quality) and the prospects of future cooperation in delivering cutting edge naval technologies to the Pakistan Navy. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chief Naval Overseer (Romania), diplomats from friendly countries, senior management of M/s DAMEN Shipyards, and officials of Ministry of Defense Production, Pakistan.
M/s DAMEN signed a contract with Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence Production for two multipurpose Offshore Petrol Vessels (OPV) for the Pakistan Navy on 30th June, 2017 following a tender process. M/s DAMEN constructed the PNS YARMOOK at its yard in Galati, a city in Romania. PNS YARMOOK is a state of the art electronic warfare, anti ship and anti-warfare platform with cutting edge self-protection and terminal defence systems. M/s DAMEN will deliver the Second vessel PNS TABUK (Designate) in May this year. PNS YARMOOK is capable of performing a variety of maritime operations and can transport both a helicopter and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The ship can also launch two high speed Rigid Hull Inflatable boats (RHIB) simultaneously and also has the capability to accommodate two Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) for special mission based operations.
PAKISTAN NAVY SHIP YARMOOK VISITS GOLCUK, TURKEY
On its way back to Pakistan, PNS Yarmook visited Golcuk, Turkey as part of goodwill visit to enhance naval collaboration and develop interoperability with Turkish Navy. During the visit, Commanding Officer of PNS Yarmook called on important authorities of Turkish Navy and amply utilized the call to highlight atrocities of Indian Armed Forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK). Upon arrival at port Golcuk, visiting Pakistan Navy Ship was extended warm welcome by Golcuk authorities. Commanding Officer of PNS Yarmook called on Senior Naval Fleet Commanders and Mayor of Golcuk city. During the interactions, Commanding Officer conveyed sincere regards of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi for people of Turkey in general and Turkish Navy in particular. Both the sides displayed commitment to further enhance brotherly relations and expand bilateral cooperation in various domains. Pakistan’s sacrifices in fight against terrorism and Pakistan Navy’s role to ensure maritime security were also highlighted.
A reception dinner was also hosted onboard PNS Yarmook. Fleet Commander Turkish Navy, Vice Admiral Ercument Tallioglu graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Senior Officers of Turkish Navy along with a large number of diplomatic and local community representatives attended the event. On the occasion, deteriorating situation and human rights violations being committed by Indian Armed Forces against innocent people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) were also highlighted, which were well received by the attendees. The Pakistan Navy Ship’s visit to various friendly ports during voyage back to homeland is aimed to strengthen friendly ties and develop interoperability with host navies.
