Bangladesh receives two refurbished Type 035 submarines from China
The Bangladesh Navy has taken delivery of two refurbished Type 035 (Ming)-class diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) from China, the Bangladesh defence ministry's inter-services public relations directorate (ISPRD) confirmed with
IHS Jane's on 15 November.
The boats, which were previously in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) with pennant numbers
356 and 357, were handed over to Bangladesh Navy chief, Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed, on 14 November at a shipyard in Dalian, China.
The SSKs have since been named
Nabajatra, and
Joyjatra respectively, said Taposhi Rabeya, a spokeswoman at the ISPRD, in response to questions from
IHS Jane's . "The vessels are expected to arrive in Bangladesh either in January or February 2017", she added.
Citing a Dhaka-based news agency,
IHS Jane's reported in December 2013 that Bangladesh has acquired the two submarines under a BTD16 billion (USD203 million) contract. The report also noted that Bangladesh is believed to be building a submarine base near Kutubdia Island in preparation for the submarine deliveries.
According to
IHS Jane's fighting Ships, the 1,800-tonne Ming class features an overall length of 76 m, and overall beam of 7.6 m and a hull draught of 5.1 m. The platform has a top speed of 18 kt when dived, 15 kt when surfaced, and 10 kt while snorting.
The submarine features eight 533 mm tubes that can deploy the weapons such as the Yu-4 anti-surface heavyweight torpedo, and can carry up to 32 naval mines in lieu of torpedoes. Each boat can accommodate a crew of 57 including 10 officers.
Nabajatra and
Joyjatra are scheduled to undergo a series of crew familiarisation exercises over the next few weeks, in preparation for their departures to Bangladesh in early 2017.
