PM inaugurates 7300-ton capacity ship lifting system

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday inaugurated a 7300-ton capacity Ship Lift and Transfer System (SLTS) at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW).

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi was present on the occasion. The contract of the Ship Lift and Transfer System was signed under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence Production with funding provided by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, as a PSDP project. The Ship Lift and Transfer System will provide docking and repair facilities to marine vessels up to 7300 tons. At one time it can accommodate 12 ships. The facility will contribute to the productivity of Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works and will fulfill ever increasing demand for the shipping industry in the country. The works generated by enhancing the ship repair capacity will outflow to the public and private industrial sectors.

The prime minister congratulated the Karachi Shipyard, the Pakistan Navy and the Ministry of Defence Production for setting up such a modern facility in Pakistan. He said now the Karachi Shipyard will stand taller in the regional maritime picture. He termed this facility a gift to the Pakistani nation, on its 75th Independence Day. He said the government is committed to support local industry and is working on friendly policies to enhance shipping and enhancing the business for the Karachi Shipyard. He said that this facility is a true testament of government’s efforts towards industrialization, capacity building and self-reliance.

He hoped that the drive towards higher grounds will continue in the future and the facility will be used to the fullest in the role envisaged by the planners and maximum benefits will be taken from the investment for poverty alleviation. He hoped that SLTS will be remembered as the precursor of the revolution his government is endeavoring for in the maritime sector.

Earlier, MD KS&EW Rear Admiral Athar Saleem, in his welcome address, said the project envisaged increase in the existing ship repair capacity and efficiency of the Karachi Shipyard. He said the system brings in a revolutionary concept against the existing docking technology, which can at the moment handle and repair only one ship at a time. Advantages of the new facility are that a ship can be recovered from sea, transferred to any of the repair stations and the ship lift can then be immediately available to lift/lower next ship, thereby increasing productivity exponentially according to the number of available parking spaces. This will significantly increase the Karachi Shipyard’s revenue.