In a span of a week, the Indian Coast Guard has got two new ships in its fleet. C-449 has been commissioned in Chennai and C-454 has been launched in Surat. Both these ships are interceptor boats and both have been produced by Larsen and Toubro.
K. Shanmugam, Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship C-449 at Chennai. The ship is Forty Ninth amongst the Fifty Four in their series being indigenously designed and built by Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Hazira in Surat, Gujarat.
The Commissioning Ceremony was witnessed by restricted dignitaries following all the Covid-19 protocols. The induction of this ship is a part of ongoing efforts by the Coast Guard to strengthen maritime and coastal security along the coast of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh. The ship will not only strengthen the security umbrella of the East Coast but also help augment patrolling in order to prevent illicit activities at sea.
This ship is 27.80 mtrs long, with a displacement of 105 tons and Max Speed of 45 knots (85 kmph). It is capable of undertaking multifarious tasks including Surveillance, Interdiction, Search and Rescue, in addition to rendering assistance to boats and craft in distress at sea. The vessel is provided with advanced navigation and communication equipment for safe navigation. The quick reaction ability coupled with modern equipment and systems provides her the capability to respond to any maritime situation at very short notice. The ship is commanded by Assistant Commandant Ashish Sharma and will be based at Krishnapatnam under the administrative and operational control of the Commander, Coast Guard District Headquarters No. 6 at Visakhapatnam.
As for Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat (IB) ICGS C-454, designed and built by Larsen and Toubro, Surat, it was launched by Hiral D. Patel on 18 August 2020. She is the wife of Dr Dhaval Patel, Collector and District Magistrate, Surat. IB of 27 metre length with average draft of 1.4 mtrs has an excellent sea-keeping, manoeuvrability, maximum speed of 45 nautical miles (83 Km/ hr) and endurance range of 500 nautical miles.