SS ''Al-Abbas'' was the first major

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

to be built at the

Karachi Shipyard The Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works Limited (KS&EW Ltd.) is a major defence contractor and shipbuilding company situated in the West Wharf in Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan. The KSEW Ltd. is sponsored and owned entirely by the Ministry of De ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1967.Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, ''History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009'' Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 6

History

SS ''Al-Abbas'' was built for Muhammadi Steamship Company Limited in 1967. She was a cargo vessel plying between

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. She was blown up and sunk on August 16, 1971, during

Operation Jackpot Operation Jackpot () was a codename for three operations undertaken by the Mukti Bahini in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against Pakistan forces at the climax of the Bangladesh War of Independence. After the Pakistani Army drove the Bengal ...

in the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. She was berthed at Jetty No. 6 of the

Port of Chittagong A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

when Indian-trained commandoes of the

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

force,

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

, used

limpet mine A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces. A swimmer or diver m ...

s to blow her up.Report of the High Level Consultants Mission to Bangladesh March/April 1972 pg 172
United Nations Retrieved 3 March 2011

Specifications

* Registry: 18 January 1968Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, ''History of Pakistan Merchant Navy 1947- 2009'' Karachi 2010 (privately published) pg 8 * Gross tonnage: 6,087 * DWT tonnage: 12,860 * LOA: 486 feet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Abbas Ships built in Pakistan 1967 ships Economy of Karachi