The Indian Coast Guard Ship, Kanaklata Barua, named after the eponymous freedom fighter, was commissioned at Kolkata by Jiwesh Nandan, IAS, Additional Secretary, MoD
The Indian Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Barua was commissioned at Kolkata by Jiwesh Nandan, IAS, Additional Secretary, MoD on Wednesday, via video conferencing. DG K Natarajan, PTM, TM, Director General Indian Coast Guard, Rear Admiral (Retd) VK Saxena Chairman & Managing Director M/s GRSE Ltd, IG AK Harbola, TM, Commander Coast Guard Region (NE) and other MoD dignitaries attended the conference. This is second time in the Indian maritime history that Coast Guard ships are commissioned through digital medium, maintaining the strict protocol of social distancing due to the pandemic COVID-19.
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 a fine example of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensor and machinery. 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 Ms Kanaklata Barua, a freedom fighter who was martyred while leading a procession carrying the Indian national flag during the 1942 Quit India movement. The Kanaklata Barua is a 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. With the commissioning of this ship, Indian Coast Guard has 151 ships and boats and 62 aircrafts. Further, 40 ships are at various stages of construction at different Indian Shipyards and 16 Advanced Light Helicopters are under production at M/s HAL, Bengaluru, which will provide the added strength to the surveillance capabilities of ICG to deal with the ever-dynamic maritime challenges.