On the 12th of November, the Pakistan Navy commissioned its new Corvette – a Damen OPV 1900 – named PNS Tabuk at the Port of Constanta, Romania. The ship is part of a two-vessel order with Damen, signed by the Pakistan Ministry of Defense in 2017. Both ships were built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. The first vessel, PNS Yarmook, joined the Pakistan Navy’s fleet in February 2020.

Like the sister vessel, PNS Tabuk is a multipurpose, highly adaptable platform, capable of performing a wide variety of operations in a complex maritime environment.  The vessel is able to launch a helicopter and a UAV, as well as two RHIBs simultaneously. 

During the commissioning, the delegates – which included many attending the event remotely due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – were addressed by the commanding officer of PNS Tabuk, Captain Muhammad Umair. The Captain acknowledged Damen’s professional competency during the project and expressed confidence in future cooperation.