NAY PYI TAW December 24
At the ceremony to mark the 77th Anniversary of Tatmadaw (Navy) of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chairman of the State Administration Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the ceremony to name and commission a 135-metre Frigate built by the Tatmadaw (Navy) into service at the Naval Dockyard Command Headquarters in Thanlyin Station this morning.
Also present at the ceremony were retired commanders-inchief (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 military 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.
On the agenda, Admiral Htein Win reported on construction of the frigate and facts about the vessel.
At the ceremony to name the vessel, the Senior General read the naming 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 development of the State.
As naval traditions, the 135- metre Frigate was commissioned into service with the acts of the Senior General in breaking the bottle of Champagne at the auspicious time while the military band of the Tatmadaw (Navy) played music.
The Commander-in-Chief (Navy) presented a scale model of the vessel and a gold axe used in commissioning the vessel to the Senior General.
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 newlycommissioned 135-metre Frigate from the ship lift platform. 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 inner parts of the vessel meeting 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 tons of load, and it can drive 30 nautical miles per hour. The vessel can possess the capabilities to serve the missions of the 21st Century navies. It has capability of defending conventional and unconventional threats on the frontline of Myanmar sea, conduct patrol and surveillance, combat invasion of terrorist organizations, and protect the water territory as well as control the sea territorial area of the State and perform 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.
Frigate King Thalun was commissioned into service from 9:00 am to 10:04 am. The vessel anchored at the jetty of Naval Dockyard Command Headquarters at 11:24 am.
