Coast Guard inducts warship INS Vaibhav in operational service

New Delhi: The Coast Guard on Tuesday inducted its latest warship INS Vaibhav, which was involved in a mishap in which more than four fishermen were killed off the coast of Goa, in operational service.

ICGS Vaibhav is the third in the series of 90 metres class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) to be inducted by the force. This OPV has been designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited and is fitted with the state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machineries, a Coast Guard release said. The ship is designed to carry one helicopter and five high speed boats for search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol. Soon after the mishap took place last month, Coast Guard chief Vice Admiral Anurag Thapliyal took action and removed the commanding officer of the vessel and ordered a Board of Inquiry into the incident. The vessel will be exploited extensively in the eastern region, more so, in the sensitive Gulf of Mannar and up to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) with Sri Lanka, to safeguard the maritime interests of India, it said. Manned by 10 officers and 84 men under the command of Deputy Inspector General Sanjiv Trikha, the vessel would be based at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. PTI