Pakistan Customs has taken delivery of two Damen Stan Patrol 1605 FRP patrol boats. The handover ceremony took place on 10th March at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works Ltd (KS&EW). The celebration was attended by distinguished guests including Dr Miftah Ismail, advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue & Economic Affairs, Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed, Collector Pakistan Customs, Rear Admiral Syed Hasan Nasir Shah, Managing Director of KS&EW and Mrs. Ardi Stoios-Braken, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The vessels were built by KS&EW with technical and material support from Damen. The entire project took just eight months and was completed successfully thanks to the high level of cooperation and trust between the two partners. The patrolling boats shall be used for monitoring and enforcement activities in Pakistan’s territorial waters.
KS&EW received the order for the two Stan Patrol 1605 FRP (Fibre Reinforced Polymer) craft from the Pakistan Customs in July last year. The bid was supported by Damen’s Technical Cooperation (DTC) programme, which cooperates with shipyards around the world.
Damen supplied prefabricated material kits along with the hulls to KS&EW. Knowledge transfer was also an integral part of the DTC programme, and for this project KS&EW production staff went to Damen Antalya for training in working with FRP by Damen’s experienced trainers. Technicians from Damen Antalya also travelled to Karachi to transfer knowledge during the production and testing phases.
These are the first Damen vessels to be built for Pakistan Customs, however KS&EW and Damen have a long history of working together. This has resulted in the delivery of four Damen Stan Tug 1605s for the Pakistan Navy and two more of the same type to the Karachi Port Trust, plus a Damen Multi Cat 1908, also for the Karachi Port Trust. The delivery of the two SPa 1605 FRPs to Pakistan Customs completes this order, however the agency is considering an expansion of their fleet in the future.
“It has been a great pleasure working with KS&EW once again,” said sales manager Teun Haverkort. “Our two companies have built a close relationship over the years and together we have combined Pakistan craftsmanship and Damen expertise to deliver a series of advanced vessels to leading Pakistan organisations. This latest project has been a great success and we look forward to cooperating again in the near future. We offer a wide variety of proven vessels under the DTC programme, ideal for all types of port and terminal, security and dredging activities.”
