KARACHI: A ceremony to hand over the second maritime patrol ship to the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) was held in the Liuzhou city of China`s Guangxi region, said a press release of the PMSA on Monday.

Basol is the second ship of its class that has been launched and is three months ahead of its scheduled delivery time.

The ceremony was attended by Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Khan Hasham BinSaddique as the chiefguest.

`Acquisition of these ships by PMSA will augment its capabilities manifold to enable it to protect Pakistan`s maritime zones and ports/harbours along the coast and secure our sea against all crimes including terrorism,` says the press release.

In his address, the vice chief of the naval staff praised the Chinese and Pakistani organisations involved in the project for early completion of an important milestone and emphasised on continuing cooperation between the two countries at all levels including the maritimebuilding sector. `The maritime sector projects being jointly undertaken by both friendly nations has become yet another source of strength to enhance security cooperation between the two countries, which will auger well for the entire maritime region,` he said.

He added that the PMSA capability enhancement was essential to secure the area of Gwadar due to enhanced responsibilities vis-a-vis the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

`Both Pakistan Navy and the PMSA have already established comprehensivemechanism to ensure security of Gwadar port and the surrounding sea areas,` he said.

PMSA director general Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar also attended the ceremony.

The ministry of defence production had signed a contract with M/s CSTC of China for the construction of4x600tonnesand2x1500 tonnes maritime patrol ships in 2015. As per the contract, four ships are being constructed in China while the remaining two ships, one of each type, are being constructed at Karachi shipyard and engineering works.