Port Blair, Sep.06: Icgs Samudra Paheredar, a dedicated Pollution Response Vessel based at Visakhapatnam, had arrived Port Blair on 06 Sep 14, for a month long deployment in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and also for Joint Maritime exercises with the Coast Guards of Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and Japan. This ship was supposed to be based in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands for surveillance and protection of marine environment. However, due to non-availability of dedicated berthing, fuelling and logistic support facilities in other ports of the Islands, the ship could not be positioned.
The Indian Coast Guard presently have about 120 ships and Interceptor boats under construction at various shipyards across the country and being delivered at an regular intervals of every three months. Efforts are on to base additional force levels in the A&N Islands commencing 2015 to increase the Maritime and Coastal surveillance.
The administration has been approached for the dedicated berthing facilities for ICG in various Islands and is under active consideration.
The ship is equipped with the State-of-the-Art Pollution Response equipment that includes containment equipment like boom, recovery devices like skimmers and side-sweeping arms and- storage tanks and inflatable barges. The ship is capable of unhindered oil recovery operation with storage capacity of 5000 kilolitre.
The special features include High Power External Fire Fighting System and unmanned machinery operations. The two pollution response boats positioned onboard augments the capability of the ship in Pollution Response operations in recovery of spilled oil at sea. The ship is capable of operating twin engine Advanced Light Helicopter and Chetak helicopter and an effective platform in Maritime law enforcement, high speed interdictions, EEZ surveillance and search and rescue.
The 95 M longship draws 4300 tons displacement and can achieve maximum speed of 22 knots. The ship is Commanded by Deputy Inspector General Sanatan Jena, a Navigation and Direction specialist and manned by 10 Officers and 107 men who are specialised in various streams for conducting effective surveillance and chartered missions of the Indian Coast Guard.
