DHAKA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The launching ceremony of Bangladesh Navy's five modern ships was held Thursday at a naval berth in the country's Chattogram seaport city, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal, on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, formally handed over the "commissioning forman (statement)" of the ships to the respective captains at the ceremony.
An audio-visual presentation was made on the five ships that included two frigates BNS Umar Farooq and BNS Abu Ubaidah, one corvette BNS Prottasha and two survey ships BNS Darshak and BNS Tallashi.
"We always want not only to protect sea territories, but also to use marine resources for our economical development," said Prime Minister Hasina while commissioning the ships through a video conference from her official Ganabhaban residence.
Of the ships, two frigates equipped with modern war weapons and one corvette were procured from China while two modern survey ships were made at a shipyard in Bangladesh, she added.
She said her government is keen to strengthen and modernize the navy to safeguard the country's independence and sovereignty alongside the sea and its resources.
