Navy, Coast Guard presence to be increased along east coast

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Navy, Coast Guard presence to be increased along east coast

KOLKATA: Coast Guard and naval presence will be enhanced in the eastern sector to ensure the nation's security and protect fishermen and offshore assets. This was announced by Vice Admiral M P Muralidharan, director general, Coast Guard, in Kolkata on Wednesday.

He was in the city for the commissioning ceremony of the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Rajshree, an inshore patrol vessel (IPV) indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).

"This vessel will be deployed in the eastern sector. A vast portion of open sea needs to be covered in this sector and we will enhance the presence of Coast Guard and Navy vessels here. Aircraft patrols will also be increased. By increasing our presence, we hope to provide security to the nation as well as protect our fishermen and offshore assets.

"We are building up our force levels. For this, we will need more vessels. More units will be raised. In the next five years, we hope to reach a level where we would be in a better position to secure the country's coastline. By 2018, we hope to have 150 vessels and 100 aircraft. Even now, nearly 100 vessels for the Coast Guard are being built at various shipyards," Vice Admiral Muralidharan said.

ICGS Rajshree is the first in the series of eight IPVs being built in Kolkata. This advanced vessel is specially designed for day-and-night operations in shallow waters.

The ship will have on board small-caliber weapons for close-quarter combat, an array of machine guns and rockets. There will be a 30 mm CRN 91 gun, which is remote controlled, gyro stabilized and computerized. It is extremely accurate and has a rapid rate of fire.

The IPV has an electro-optical fire control system. It has on board a high speed fibre-reinforced plastic boat, two Geminis and a water scooter for boarding, special operations and amphibious landings. The IPVs are advanced versions of Fast Attack Craft that the Navy uses.

"The new series of IPVs demonstrate the technological leap the Coast Guard has taken. This is a step towards substantially increasing force levels to face the emerging security challenges in the maritime domain. This ship will add punch to the efforts of the Coast Guard in its coastal security operations and other charter of duties in the eastern seaboard," the DG said.

The ICGS Rajshree, commanded by Commandant Pankaj Verma, an alumnus of the prestigious US Naval War College, Newport, is 50 metres long and displaces 300 tonnes. It can achieve a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of 1,500 nautical miles at a speed of 16 knots. The others present at the commissioning ceremony included Rear Admiral (retd) A K Verma, GRSE chairman and managing director and S P Sharma, IG, Coast Guard Region (East).

"The keel of ICGS Rajshree was laid on September 27, 2010 and it was launched on March 21, 2011. The ship has been fully constructed and fitted out at Rajabagan Dockyard of GRSE. Integrated construction technology was adopted during construction of the ship and as a result it has been possible to deliver it within 16 months of keel laying. We have targeted to deliver the second ship of this series within the next two months," Verma said.

Navy, Coast Guard presence to be increased along east coast - The Times of India
There has been an abnormal rise in the activities of the Bangladeshi river pirates in the Sunderbans.

Recently, they captured Indian fishermen from the Sunderbans, stole their catch and fuel, killed some and then hijacked one of their boats with the captured fishermen for ransom.

There is no doubt that the Bangladeshi pirates are stealing Indian resources.

The additional vigilance by the Coast Guard and the Navy will ensure that these foreign pirates are kept at bay and taken to task!
 

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