The 498-ton PNS Rah Naward, meaning "swift mover," sailed from Hull in the United Kingdom with a crew of 38 in September. It reached the naval dockyards in Karachi in December -- a distance of 7,000 nautical miles.

The 195-foot ship has 10,215 square feet of sail and a draft of nearly 16 feet.

Adm. Noman Bashir, chief of the naval staff, praised the ship during his speech at the annual parade at the Karachi dockyard, saying the vessel will help teach cadets the need for good teamwork and the rewards of hard work.

"In today's fast-changing world, and in the wake of rapid developments in technology and naval strategies, the significance of professional knowledge and human skill has increased manifold," he said.

"We must understand that only with quality training and consistent hard work, can we achieve the much-needed edge over our adversary."

Toward this goal, Bashir said the navy was vigorously pursuing a strategy for building a balanced fleet of modern frigates, submarines and aircraft. This included three F-22 Raptor fighters and P3C Orion surveillance aircraft from Lockheed Martin, as well as Z9-E utility helicopters -- a version of the French Eurocopter Dauphin manufactured under license by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. in China.

The two-masted brig was under construction in German shipyards in the 1990s and designed as a tourist sailing vessel for West Indies holiday cruises. It wasn't intended for serious sailing, according to the Tall Ships Youth Trust.

The German owner canceled the project and TSYT purchased the vessel, hull-finished only, in 1997. It was sent to Appledore Shipbuilders in England for modification and reinforcing to take a full sailing rig, improve sailing properties and the addition of a deeper keel holding 50 tons of ballast.

The Prince William competed in many races, including the 2005 Tall Ships' Races. It also was registered as a U.K. auxiliary coast guard vessel and during the 2005 it stood by a stricken vessel in case it was needed as a rescue ship.

In 2007 the trustees of the TSYT decided to sell Prince William. It was laid up in Portsmouth Dockyard in England and later in Hull, before being sold to the Pakistan navy last year.

The PNS Rah Naward is similar in design to the wooden-hulled, two-masted brig U.S.S. Niagara, still float. It served in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812 when the U.S. Navy was protecting its Great Lakes shoreline from the British in Canada.

The Niagara is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in downtown Erie as an outdoor exhibit for the museum but travels the Great Lakes during the summer as an ambassador of Pennsylvania.

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