At the ceremony to mark the 77th Anniversary of Tatmadaw (Navy) of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, State Administration Council Chairman Defence Services Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the ceremony to christen and launch a 135-metre Frigate built by Tatmadaw (Navy) at the Naval Dockyard Command Headquarters in Thanlyin Station yesterday morning.

On the agenda, Admiral Htein Win reported on the construction of the frigate and facts about the vessel.

At the ceremony to christen the vessel, the Senior General read the name of the vessel. He said that the Frigate was named “King Thalun” in honour of King Thalun for combatting internal enemies of the country, defending the external danger and adopting the standards and norms for the development of the State.

As per naval traditions, the Senior General broke a bottle of champagne at the auspicious moment and the 135-metre about (443 feet) Frigate was launched as the military band of the Tatmadaw (Navy) played music.

The Commander-in-Chief (Navy) presented the Senior General with a scale model of the vessel and a gold axe used in launching the vessel.

The Senior General cordially conversed with officers and other ranks who participated in building the vessel and presented a fruit basket. They then had documentary photos taken.

The Senior General and party viewed launching the newly built 135-metre Frigate from the ship lift platform.

Frigate King Thalun was launched at 9:00 am it was fully afloat 10:04 am. The vessel anchored at the jetty of Naval Dockyard Command Headquarters at 11:24 am.

Also present at the ceremony were retired commanders-in-chief (Navy) and their wives, Commander-in-Chief (Navy) Admiral Htein Win and his wife, Commander-in-Chief (Air) General Tun Aung and his wife, union-level dignitaries and their wives, union ministers and their wives, the Yangon Region chief minister and his wife, senior Tatmadaw officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief and their wives, the commander of Yangon Command, the commander of Naval Control Command, commander of naval region commands, war veterans organization members and guests.

The 135-metre Frigate King Thalun was built at the Naval Dockyard Command Headquarters in March 2017 under the guidance of the Senior General. As it was a large volume, parts of the body were constructed separately, and then these were assembled.

The Frigate is the largest vessel among other vessels built by the Tatmadaw (Navy). It is fully facilitated with the body structures, machines, electronics, weapons and weaponry systems. Efforts were made to develop the inner parts of the vessel to meet the international war vessels. The vessel with 135 metres in length, 14.5 metres in breadth, nine metres in height and 4.1 metres in draught can withstand 3,500 tonnes of load, and can cruise 30 nautical miles per hour. The vessel can possess the capabilities to serve the missions of the 21st-century navies. It has the capability of defending conventional and unconventional threats on the frontline of the Myanmar Sea, conducting patrol and surveillance, combatting invasion of terrorist groups, protecting the maritime boundary as well as controlling the territorial waters of the State and performing search and rescue operations for humanitarian measures. As the Frigate which can be used in multi-military operations was added into the Tatmadaw (Navy), it can more effectively protect the Myanmar sea which can bring marine benefits to the State.

MNA/TTA

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