Name Sagittaire Name Munsif Launched 9 November 1988 Draft 3.5 m | Commissioned 27 July 1989 Acquired 24 September 1992 Length 52 m | |
Builder Lorient Arsenal, Lorient Fate Sold to Pakistan, 24 September 1992 | ||
PNS Munsif (M166) is the lead ship of the Munsif class of minehunters for the Pakistan Navy. The vessel was formerly Sagittaire (M650), an Éridan-class minehunter of the French Navy. Éridan and Munsif are, respectively, the French and Pakistan Navies' names of the Tripartite-class of minehunters, developed jointly by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Sagittaire was constructed at the Lorient Arsenal, in Lorient, France, and launched on 9 November 1988, and commissioned into the French Navy on 27 July 1989. She saw active service during the Gulf War before being sold to Pakistan on 24 September 1992. Renamed Munsif soon after, she was formally commissioned into the Pakistan Navy in 1995. As of 2005, Munsif and two sister ships, commissioned in 1996 and 1997, remained in active service for the Pakistan Navy.