Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works has completed steel cutting on a 1,100-TEU feeder containership for Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, advancing the country’s first commercial containership newbuilding project since the early 1980s, according to Iftikhar Ahmad Rao, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Maritime Reforms.
“Construction has already begun, the steel cutting has been completed,” Rao said at a briefing in Islamabad on Thursday. Steel cutting began at the Karachi yard in January 2026. The project is based on a contract signed by KSEW and PNSC in February 2024 and later revived after financial delays. PNSC’s financial accounts value the construction contract at $24.75m. Pakistani officials have said the domestic price is below comparable international market levels and that local construction should reduce foreign-exchange expenditure on imported tonnage and freight services.
A PNSC tender issued in June for technical supervision confirms that the vessel will sail under the Pakistan flag and be classed by Bureau Veritas. The appointed consultant will oversee design documentation, construction, trials and the warranty period at KSEW.
The vessel is intended to expand PNSC’s feeder container shipping operations and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign carriers.
PNSC was established under the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Ordinance of 1979. Its activities include tanker and dry-cargo transportation, vessel chartering, freight forwarding and port agency services.
KSEW was established in 1956 and operates under the administrative control of Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence Production. Its facilities can construct vessels of up to 26,000 dwt, including cargo ships, tankers, naval vessels, dredgers, ferries and tugs.