First Inshore Patrol Vessel of India named after a Jain Queen

First Inshore Patrol Vessel of India named after a Jain Queen

Visakhapatnam, May 28 : 'Rani Abbakka’, the first of the five Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV), built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) was commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), here today.

Talking to newspersons, Inspector General of ICG (eastern region) SPS Basra, who was present on the occasion with his wife Ms Harkiran Basra, said HSL was building five such vessels for the Coast Guard at a cost of Rs 231.19 crore.

The vessel, meeting International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards, was built for dual class certification by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Indian Registered Shipping (IRS). It was a high speed vessel built of light steel hull and fitted with water jet propulsion system to get high speed operations at 34 knots.

The Centre had already approved a large vessel, five off shore patrol vessels, ten fast patrol vessels, 25 inshore patrol vessels and 20 interceptor boats, he said, adding post Mumbai 26/11 attack, the security scenario had warranted extensive patrolling and enhanced surveillance along the coast in the country.

The threats were real and the reaction to such situations needed to be fast and effective, he added.

HSL Chairman and Managing Director Naresh Kumar said the HSL was constructing three vessels concurrently and would be delivering all the five vessels of the series within an year.
--- UNI



-Mahavir Sanglikar