Hyderabad: India Coast Guard (ICG) formally commissioned the Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Rashmoni at Visakhapatnam on Monday. ICG Additional Director General VSR Murty formally commissioned the Vessel.
The 346-tonne ship with 51 meters length, 8.36 meters width has been named after the legendary Rani Rashmoni of Kolkata. It has been designed and built by the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) indigenously and is equipped with the most advanced and sophisticated navigational and communication sensors and equipment.
ICGS Rashmoni is propelled by three MTU 40000 series diesel engines of 2720 KW capacity each coupled with three Rolls Royce Kamewa jets and can achieve a maximum speeds of 34 knots (63 kmph).
“This project, in fact, has been challenging for the shipyard wherein it encountered tremendous obstacles in dealing with tonnage of the vessel and the resultant speed,” Murty said while addressing a meeting after commissioning. He complemented the Shipyard team for its remarkable efforts towards overall weight reduction and achieving contractual speed of 34 knots.
He said the ship is designed to perform multifarious tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue, anti-smuggling and anti-poaching operations.
The ADG announced that the Coast Guard would add five more ships to the coast of Andhra Pradesh to be placed at Vizag, Kakinada and Krishnapatnam in the next two years.
He added that the Coast Guard plays an important role in protecting the wide ranging maritime interests of the nation; particularly after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. “Consequently concerted efforts have been made towards capacity building to fulfill the greater responsibility of coastal security,” the ADG said. “Today, Indian Coast Guard is not only safeguarding our national maritime interests but has also emerged as a credible agency in combating maritime crimes, conducting maritime search and rescue, pollution response at sea and also inter-operability of men and platform in testing times”, Murty said.
India Coast Guard has singed MoUs with seven countries for strengthening regional cooperation in maritime safety and environmental protection. A MoU was signed last month for cooperation on response to oil and chemical pollution in South Asia Sea region covering India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
The ICG is planning to set up an Air Enclave at Vizag to enhance air surveillance. A jetty will also be built at Kakinada in collaboration with the Indian Navy. Around 60 more radar stations will be established on the coastline of AP under phase – II of Coastal Surveillance Network to ensure near-gap-free electronic surveillance.
ICGS Rani Rashmoni has four officers and 34 men and is commanded by Commandant Navdeep Safaya. The ship will be based at Visakhapatnam under the administrative and operational control of the commander, Coast Guard district administration-6.