ICG Ship Kanaklata Barua commissioned at Kolkata

• The ship is named after Kanaklata Barua, a freedom fighter
• The ship is designed to carry one RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) high speed boats and one Gemini boat for swift boarding and Search & Rescue operations.
• With the commissioning of this ship, Indian Coast Guard has 151 ships & Boats and 62 aircraft.

Mangaluru, Sep 30: Indian Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Barua was commissioned at Kolkata by Jiwesh Nandan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence today via video conferencing.

K Natarajan, Director General Indian Coast Guard, Rear Admiral (Retd) VK Saxena Chairman & Managing Director GRSE Ltd, IG AK Harbola, Commander Coast Guard Region (NE) and other dignitaries were present.

Indian Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Barua, the last in the series of five Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) has been designed and built indigenously by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, Kolkata. It is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensor and machinery.

The ship, on joining the Coast Guard fleet, will be deployed extensively for EEZ surveillance, Coastal Security and other duties as enshrined in the Coast Guard charter of duties, to safeguard the maritime interests of the Nation.

The 49 m ship displaces about 310 tons, 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) high speed boats and one Gemini boat for swift boarding and Search & Rescue operations.

The ship is named in honour of Kanaklata Barua, a freedom fighter who was martyred while leading a procession carrying the Indian National Flag during the 1942 Quit India movement.
ICGS Kanaklata Barua is replacement of a similar named vessel which was in commission from 1997 to 2018. The ship is commanded by Commandant (JG) Subhash Kapoor.

The ship, on joining the Coast Guard fleet, will be deployed extensively for EEZ surveillance, Coastal Security and other duties as enshrined in the Coast Guard charter of duties, to safeguard the maritime interests of the Nation.

With the commissioning of this ship, Indian Coast Guard has 151 ships & Boats and 62 aircraft.

Further, 40 ships are at various stages of construction at different Indian Shipyards and 16 Advanced Light Helicopters are under production at HAL, Bengaluru.

True to its motto “Vayam Rakshamah” meaning “We Protect”, ICG has to its credit saving about 9,750 lives at sea, 12,500 lives as part of assistance rendered to Civil authorities and undertook 384 Medical evacuations, which works out to one life saved every two days.

The hawk eye vigil by the ICG of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has ensured seizure of about ₹ 7000 crore contraband, 1600 foreign fishing vessels with 13,000 miscreants were apprehended for fishing illegally in Indian waters, during the same period. ICG remains committed to ensure ‘Safe, Secure and Clean seas’ around the Indian subcontinent.