First Inshore Patrol Vessel Launched

The first inshore patrol vessel of the Coast Guard ‘Rani Abbakka’ being launched in Visakhapatnam. It is the first of the five such vehicles being built by the Hindustan Shipyard for the Coast Guard. The Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is building these vessels at a cost of Rs.231.19 crore. The first fully developed vessel delivered in August 2009, and the rest at an interval of three months. Commodore Naresh Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of HSL, said these vessels, developed in coordination with the Coast Guard, would significantly add to the country’s coastal surveillance capability. There was some delay in getting equipment, but the problem was overcome. Now the shipyard could deliver a ship of IPV type every three months.

The government had approved a large fleet of vessels for induction into the Coast Guard.

These included five offshore patrol vessels, 10 fast patrol vessels and 25 inshore patrol vessels and 20 interceptor boats.

The Coast Guard would gain immensely from the state-of-the-art vessels, he said.