New Delhi: PNS Hunain (F-273) is learnt to have approached an Indian Navy ship at high speed while attempting to intercept or follow it in the international waters, before a manoeuvre at close range resulted in the two vessels grazing each other.
Sources in the Indian defence and security establishment said the Indian Navy ship was operating in international waters on a routine surveillance mission when the Pakistani offshore patrol vessel (OPV) began approaching it at high speed on Tuesday evening.
The Indian captain is understood to have observed the approaching Pakistani vessel and issued warnings.
Towards the end of the encounter, PNS Hunain attempted a manoeuvre at close range and grazed the starboard side of the Indian naval vessel, the sources said.
There was no major damage to the Indian ship, which continued with its operational deployment.
According to the sources, the incident appeared to have resulted from the Pakistani vessel’s handling and manoeuvring at high speed. They said the Pakistani ship was unable to steer clear of the Indian vessel in time and showed lack of control.
The sources declined to identify the Indian Navy ship involved, but said it was larger than the Pakistani OPV.
The sources identified the Pakistani vessel as PNS Hunain, a multipurpose medium-sized offshore patrol vessel equipped with electronic warfare systems, anti-ship and anti-air warfare capabilities, sensors, self-protection systems and a terminal defence system.
Built by Damen Shipyards in Romania, the vessel was commissioned in July 2024. The vessel is based on Damen’s OPV 2600 design and measures about 98 m (322 ft) in length.
The Yarmook-class vessel can accommodate a helicopter and unmanned aerial systems, besides carrying rigid-hull inflatable boats for maritime-security and surveillance missions.
The ship has a fuel capacity of about 300 cubic metres and is powered by four Caterpillar diesel engines. It is also fitted with a 450-kilowatt bow thruster and two propellers.
The vessel, with a 60 member crew, has a reported top speed of about 22 knots (41 kmph), a range of around 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 km) and endurance of up to 40 days.
Its weapons fit includes 30-mm and 12.7-mm remote weapon stations, surface-to-surface missile launchers and a 20-mm close-in weapon system.
Hunain is the third vessel in Pakistan’s Yarmook-class OPV programme. The first two vessels, PNS Yarmook and PNS Tabuk, are based on the smaller Damen OPV 2300 design and are about five metres shorter and roughly 600 tonnes lighter than Hunain.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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Are there no protocols when the Pakistani navy ship approached the Indian navy ship at high speed? Why cannot the Indian navy ship fire and destroy Pakistani navy ship?