Based on the Pakistani authorities, sea freight companies price Pakistan $4.6 billion USD in onerous foreign money outflows. Pakistani officers and authorities publications state that 90% of the nation’s commerce flows via the ocean, indicating that the expense is vital because it facilitates Pakistan’s exports.
Securing the ocean lanes driving that commerce turned one of many Pakistan Navy’s (PN) most urgent priorities, resulting in the funding in offshore patrol vessels (OPV).
As mentioned in a earlier Quwa evaluation, the OPVs are the point of interest of the PN’s rising maritime safety capabilities – and for a purpose of accelerating significance.
Since 2024, the Authorities of Pakistan has endeavoured to increase the Pakistan Nationwide Transport Company (PNSC), beginning with a lease for 3 ships for USD $139 million, following the induction of two Aframax oil tankers in 2019. Plans are additionally underway to obtain 12 extra vessels to increase the PNSC’s fleet to 30 by 2026 and 60 by 2028-2029.
Contemplating how Pakistan’s service provider navy had solely 9 ocean-going vessels in 2015, embarking on a 6X-plus improve in fleet dimension over 15 years is important progress. Now, for the PN, the priority is two-fold: not solely does 90% of Pakistan’s commerce circulate via the seas, however most of that commerce could in the future be managed by the PNSC and, probably, Pakistani non-public freight firms.
Inside this context, Quwa estimates that the PN might spend money on increasing its OPV fleet past the preliminary plan. In 2020, the PN management acknowledged that it was in talks so as to add six OPVs to its then-fleet of two Yarmouk-class (Damen OPV 2200) ships, and that these could be of ‘bigger tonnage’. Then, in 2022, the PN contracted Damen Group for 2 OPV 2600s. Thus, based mostly on earlier statements, the PN might probably purchase 4 extra OPVs, bringing the whole to eight ships.
