Starting Sunday, at the click of a mouse, the Navy will be able to track the movement of ships and fishing boats plying in the waters all along India’s 7,500-km-long coastline. The Command Centre at Gurgaon will receive real time radar feed and pictures taken by high-definition cameras, satellites and maritime surveillance aircraft. The footage will be exactly the same as captured by 46 coastal radar stations now operating in remote areas of the country.
Called the Information Management Analysis Centre, the command post will enable the Navy and other stakeholders in coastal security to take effective action in case a rogue ship or boat is detected. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will inaugurate the Command Centre on Sunday.
This Rs450-crore project, also known as National Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence Centre (NC3I), was launched soon after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, when Pakistani terrorists managed to reach the city undetected due to gaps in coastal surveillance.
The Command Centre will go a long way in plugging these gaps through round-the-clock surveillance by radars, high-definition electro optic cameras and satellites, officials said on Wednesday.
Explaining the process of dissemination of information, they said an officer sitting at his console at the Command Centre can access real time information on his computer screen about traffic of ships and boats in his designated zone, be it waters off Chennai or remote islands in Andaman & Nicobar.
In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, at least 46 coastal radar stations at strategic locations in all the nine littoral states continuously monitor sea lanes. These stations in turn relay information to six core centres located in Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Mumbai, Chennai, Port Blair, Visakhapatnam and Kochi.
With the main centre at Gurgaon becoming functional, the officer will also get the information or visual data as seen by his counterparts manning the radar stations. All the stations, core centres and main command posts are connected with a high-tech computer network through especially-developed Coastal Surveillance and Decision Support software system designed and managed by the Navy.
The software has incorporated data about fishing boats and trawlers engaged in their trade in Indian waters through Automatic Identification System (AIS) chips. However, 30,000-odd small fishing boats are yet to be issued these chips as fishermen are demanding them free of cost. The State Governments, through their respective fisheries departments, are likely to complete this process in the coming months, they said.
There are more than 200,000 small and medium-size fishing boats and 60,000 to 70,000 boats venture out into the sea to catch fish every day. The AIS covers boats weighing more than 300 tonnes or those that are 20 metres long. The Navy is urging the State Governments to issue AIS to smaller boats to ensure that all boats out in the sea are identifiable.
Information about all merchant ships, be it Indian or foreign, passing through Indian waters or close by is also part of the software as it is now linked to the World Shipping Register. This will help the officer concerned to track the movement of the ships and take steps if any of them deviates from its path or is found sailing in a suspicious manner.
Similarly, Vessel Traffic Management System is also linked to the Command Centre.
As part of the national maritime domain awareness programme, undertaken after the Mumbai attack and the Navy-designated lead agency in coastal security, the Service in the last six years has evolved a drill. It involves regular interaction with all the 13 stakeholders including State police, port authorities, customs, light houses and Coast Guard besides others. Cabinet Secretary also interacts with all the agencies involved in maritime security at regular intervals.
The Navy holds regular camps in all the fishing hamlets to sensitise fishermen about coastal security and report about any suspicious boat or vessel plying in Indian waters. Moreover, the Navy conducts at least two exercises on the eastern and western sea board twice a year in which all the stakeholders take part to check alertness levels and preparedness.