Pakistan Begins Construction of 1,100-TEU PNSC Container Vessel at Karachi Shipyard

KARACHI: Pakistan has made another stride in enhancing its maritime industry with the project of a 1,100 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container ship being built on behalf of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) officially inaugurated on Tuesday. The effort is to increase the national shipping capacity and eliminate dependence on foreign shipping lines.

The steel-cutting ceremony was held at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW), and was opened by Federal Minister of Maritime Affairs and its Chairman Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, and other senior officials of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, PNSC and KSEW were present.

Addressing the ceremony, the minister described the project as a strategic milestone to the maritime industry in Pakistan, and said it showed the determination of the government to restore the shipping and shipbuilding industries as part of a larger national economic agenda.

The 1,100-TEU container ship under construction is an indication of growing shipbuilding capabilities in Pakistan because it is being constructed on local resources and with domestic technical expertise. The minister pointed that building local vessels would strengthen the maritime infrastructure and slowly eliminate reliance on foreign vessels.

Mr. Chaudhry added that the inclusion of the new vessel in the PNSC fleet would help save valuable foreign exchange by lowering overseas freight payments and strengthen the corporation’s ability to support Pakistan’s growing import-export trade.

Emphasizing the importance of the sector, he pointed out that around 95 per cent of Pakistan’s trade volume is carried by sea, making a robust and self-reliant maritime industry vital for sustained economic stability and growth.