Kolkata: Indian Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Barua was commissioned at Kolkata by Jiwesh Nandan IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday via video conferencing.
K Natarajan, Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, Rear Admiral (Retd) V K Saxena Chairman, Inspector General AK Harbola, Commander Coast Guard Region (NE) and other MoD dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
Indian Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Barua, last in the series of five Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) was designed and built indigenously by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. in Kolkata. The FPV is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensor and machinery. The 49-metre-long ship displaces about 310 tons and propelled by three MTU 4000 Series engines, designed to attain a maximum speed of 35 knots. The ship is designed to carry one RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat), speed boats and one Gemini boat for swift boarding and search and rescue operations.
The Ship was named in honour of Kanaklata Barua, a freedom fighter who was martyred while leading a procession during the 1942 Quit India movement. ICGS Kanaklata Barua is the replacement of an eponymous vessel which was in service from 1997 to 2018. The ship is commanded by Commandant (JG) Subhash Kapoor.
As the part of its efforts to maximize the indigenous content in new assets, 70 per cent of parts used in the assembly of ICGS Kanaklata Barua were made in India, thus providing the necessary fillip to the Indian shipbuilding industry.
The ship, on joining the Coast Guard fleet, will be deployed extensively for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance, coastal security and other duties. With the commissioning of the ship, Indian Coast Guard has 151 ships and Boats and 62 aircraft. According to an official statement issued by the ICG, 40 ships are at various stages of production at different shipyards in India. Also, ICG will induct 16 Advanced Light Helicopters which are currently under production at Hindustan Aeronautic Limited in Bengaluru.
