The naval base at Porbandar, earlier known as Dwarka II, was commissioned on Saturday as INS Sardar Patel by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. The new base would support ships, submarines and aircraft of Western Naval Command operating in 1,600-km-long coastline of Gujarat, said Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Robin Dhowan.
Addressing the media aboard warship INS Kolkata, the largest destroyers of Indian Navy commissioned by the PM Narendra Modi in August 2014, Dhowan said that INS Sardar Patel is strategic forward operating Naval base in Gujarat which would also provide the vital logistics and administrative support for all co-located units here.
“After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Navy has been handed over the charge for coordinating coastal and offshore security requirements as well as augment naval presence in the sensitive areas,” said Dhowan. “INS Sardar Patel and augmentation of infrastructure and assets will provide the necessary impetus to meet the role,” he added.
“Through this naval base, Navy has decided to leverage technology and installed 46 radar stations and 74 automatic identification centers throughout the Indian coastline in order to establish National Command Control Communication and Information network. Some of the parts of this network are on Gujarat’s coastline as 8 coastal stations and 11 AICs to provide security cover,” he said.
In view of the economic development in the region, the responsibility of Porbandar naval base has grown manifold, he said, adding, “There are as many as 43 ports intersperse across the Gujarat coastline including major Kandla port. Besides, there are 12 Single Point Moorings (SPMs) in Gulf of Kutch. Presently 120 million tons crude oil is imported through the Gulf of Kutch, which is 71 per cent of the country’s total import. Gujarat ports are handling over 300 million tons of cargo annually (30 per cent of total cargo handled in India). In addition the industrial development in Gujarat with its high maritime component and considerable industrial infrastructure on seafront makes it vulnerable from sea not only during hostilities but also during peace time.”