The two submarines, named ‘Joijatra’ and ‘Navojatra’, reached Chittagong port from China yesterday. On November 15, the Chinese government handed over the two submarines to Admiral Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed, chief of the Bangladesh Navy, during his visit to China.
The Navy will induct the two submarines to its fleet for the first time in its history to further intensify monitoring in the Bay and enhance the force’s combat capability.
Talking to The Independent, a senior officer of the Bangladesh Navy said the Navy would induct the two submarines at a special ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the first week of January next year.
“With the inclusion of the two submarines, Bangladesh Navy will start its journey as a three-dimensional force,” Admiral Ahmed said at the submarines’ handover ceremony

at Liaonan shipyard in Dalian, China. Rear Admiral Liu Zizhu, on behalf of the Chinese government, handed over the submarines to Admiral Ahmed in the presence of senior naval officials of both sides. These Type 035 submarines will soon reach Bangladesh and will be added to the naval fleet at the beginning of 2017. The navy chief thanked the Chinese naval force for modernising the submarines and imparting necessary training to Bangladesh Navy personnel to operate and maintain the ships. Meanwhile, naval personnel of both the countries completed a sea trial and real training to operate the submarines, according to an ISPR news release.
Both the submarines are 76 metres in length and 7.6 metres in width and are equipped with torpedoes and mines, which are capable of attacking enemy warships and submarines.