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The Indian Coast Guard has been continually beefing up its capability to ward off maritime threats and increase coastal security in recent months. The latest addition in its capabilities is a new Indian Coast Guard Station in Ratnagiri in the state of Maharashtra as well as the induction of two new interceptor boats. The new Coast Guard Station at Ratnagiri was commissioned by Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, Director General Coast Guard, in the presence of other senior Coast Guard and state government officials. ICGS Ratnagiri will function under the administrative and operational control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (West) through the Commander, Coast Guard District HQ-2 (Maharashtra) located at Mumbai.
This new Indian Coast Guard Station (ICGS) in Ratnagiri will be crucial and play a significant role in pursuing joint coastal patrol activity along with Police, Customs and Fisheries Department to keep it safe from coastal threats and maintain maritime security.
In addition to the ICGS Ratnagiri, two Interceptor boats C-150 and C-151 have also been commissioned by Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, Director General Indian Coast Guard in the presence of a host of dignitaries. The interceptor boats will carry out various roles including surveillance, search and rescue, anti smuggling and anti poaching operations. The interceptor boats will be based in Vizhinjam in Kerala and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.
As for the salient features of the interceptor boats, they have an endurance of 500 nautical miles, can achieve speeds up to 45 Knots and are equipped with advanced navigational and communication equipment. In addition to small arms, the boats are also fitted with 12.7 mm ‘Prahari’ Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) to augment the vessels fire power. The aluminum hulled vessels are propelled by water jets with the added advantage of shallow water operations and high speed. The 28 meter ships will have a crew of eleven personnel each.
According to the Indian Coast Guard officials, a more substantial role has been accorded to the Coast Guard in the recent times which has enabled it to acquire advanced surveillance capabilities and other assets. In fact, the manpower is also going to be increased with the infrastructural development that is taking place.
Besides the commissioning of the ICGS Ratnagiri and the two interceptor boats, one more station at Dahanu has been planned for establishment in Maharashtra in the current year. In addition, setting up of a Coast Guard Air Station at Ratnagiri is also close to fruition and it will be the first full-fledged air station of the Coast Guard in Maharashtra enabling maritime surveillance and Search & Rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has also been orchestrating the set-up of a Coastal Surveillance Network (CSN) with the debut CSN Station coming up at Tarapore. The plan is to install a sophisticated surveillance system along the coastline which is capable of tracking movements as distant as 20 kilometers in the sea with a command and control centre in Delhi from where the entire coast can be monitored. In the first phase, these surveillance stations would come up in 46 sensitive coastal locations. Being developed by state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), the system includes radars and electro- optic and meteorological sensors and would be mounted on light- houses or towers at these locations.
The Coast Guard is augmenting its force levels and infrastructure quite rapidly. The service will have a total of 42 Stations and 14 Air Stations/Enclaves by 2012 and its force levels will almost double to 130 ships and 100 aircraft in a couple of years.
Article courtesy of DefenceNow.com
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