They said that Pakistan Navy had two oil tankers PN Nasir and PN Moawin, which had been purchased from China and Netherlands in 1964 and 1980, respectively. They said that both oil tankers, having fuel capacity of 18000 tons and 9000 tons, respectively, had completed their lives and Pakistan Navy now wanted to replace both oil tankers with new ones.
Therefore, the KS&EW has engaged Turkish firm 'Savunma' to develop latest oil tanker in Karachi shipyard, they said and added that the KS&EW with the assistance of Turkish firm had started its work in November 2013, which would be completed by 2017. Replying to a question, they said that Turkish firm had so far granted the contract of single oil tanker while no further arrangement for the development of another oil tanker had been made, so far. They said that both oil tankers, being used by Pakistan Navy, were not only outdated but also converted from commercial ships hence they were huge in terms of weight - PN Nasir (35000 tons) and PN Moawin (25000 tons). Now, Pakistan Navy needs to have latest oil tankers, which not only fulfil the required fuel demand (8000 tons) but also low in weight.
Keeping this in view, the KS&EW with the assistance of Turkish firm pays more attention to build lightweight ship, they said and added that new oil tanker would have a fuel capacity 8000 tons and would be almost half in weight (17000 tons) as compared to PN Moawin.