Visakhapatnam, July 13 (ANI): Indian Navy on Tuesday commissioned a brand new craft named INS Koswari, the ninth indigenously built Fast Attack Craft (FAC) in Visakhapatnam.
Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Indian Army, was guest of honour on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Vice-Admiral Anup Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, said the vessel would enhance the efficiency of the Indian Navy.
"This ship arrives just in time to fill the void. Indian Navy prefers to seamlessly control our coasts. The modern weapons ...... on this vessel ensure efficiency as well as effectiveness for the country's seawall defence, low intensity maritime operations, and protection of our very valuable off shore installations," he said.
Lauding the ship builders, Lt. Gen Bikram Singh said INS Koswari would serve as a vital link in the protection of the Konkan coast, the strategically located Lakshadweep group of islands and the vast amount of shipping passing through these waters.
"M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders having made this ship to exacting standards, have proven that we have mastered the art and skill of complex shipbuilding and indeed have the capacity to address the aspirations of our Navy," he said.
"I am sure INS Koswari based at Karwar will serve as a vital link in the protection of the Konkan coast, the strategically located Lakshadweep group of islands and the vast amount of shipping passing through these waters. This will further enhance the punch, the potency and versatility of the Navy to deal with varied kind of tasking, ranging from combat to benign humanitarian relief as well as search and rescue operations," he added.
Admiral K. C. Sekhar (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director, M/S Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, said the ship is cost efficient, fuel efficient and is ideally suited for anti-poaching, anti-surfing and anti-piracy operations.
"We have not got designs from abroad. It is our own design and after delivering nine ships and what all feedbacks we have from the customer or user that is Navy, we find that these are of excellent design ....got very good maneuvering capabilities, sea keeping characteristics and it can withstand sea state up to four and five. So this is a very good design and we are proud of it," he said.
The ship, named after an island measures 52 meters in length and displacement of 325 tons, with the maximum speed of 30 Knots.
The ship equipped with advanced MTU engines and latest communication sets especially made for extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrolling.
INS Koswari will be based at Karwar, under the Naval Officer-in-Charge of Karnataka and will be deployed for Coastal Patrol and Anti-Piracy missions along the Konkan coast and the Lakshadweep group of islands. (ANI)
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