Steel Cutting Ceremony of second Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV-II) being constructed for Pakistan Navy was held at DAMEN Shipyard Galati in Romania.

Ambassador of Pakistan to Romania Safdar Hayat, graced the occasion as Chief Guest.

The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (Operations) Rear Admiral Faisal Rasul Lodhi, alongwith officials from the Ministry of Defence Production and Naval Headquarters.

Contract for 02 state of the art, multi-purpose Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV-I and II) for Pakistan Navy, was signed between Ministry of Defence Production and DAMEN, Netherlands in 2017.

OPVs will significantly enhance the combat capabilities and capacity for peace and war time operations of Pakistan Navy.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of Pakistan to Romania Safdar Hayat highlighted that 14th August is a historic and important day for Pakistan as we are celebrating 71st Independence Day.

On this auspicious day, steel cutting ceremony of 2nd OPV has added more colour to national celebrations.

The Ambassador further highlighted that after induction, both OPVs will further augment the initiative of Pakistan Navy for independently conducting Regional Maritime Security Patrol of Indian Ocean Region for protection of national and international shipping against threats of Maritime terrorism, piracy, narcotics, arms smuggling and human trafficking.