The Cochin Shipyard Limited has launched the fourth Fast Patrol Vessel being built for the Coast Guard.
The vessel was launched yesterday by Dr Ranjini Raghavan, in the presence of Coast Guard commanders-- DIG Satish Chandran, and DIG T P Sadanandan.
Capt R S Sundar, Director(Operations), CSL, Dr K N Raghavan, Commissioner of Customs, Senior Officials of the Coast Guard, Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard Ltd, were among those present, a Shipyard statement said today.
The vessel was named 'ABHIRAJ' by Dr Ranjini Raghavan.
This is the fourth in a series of 20 numbers FPVs contracted by CSL for the Coast Guard. The contract was signed in 2010 with delivery of the last vessel slated for 2017.
The vessels are being built under the dual classification requirements of ABS and IRS. The 50 metre x 7.6 metre x 4.65 metre vessels have a designed speed of 33 knots.
The primary role of the vessel include fisheries protection and monitoring, patrol within exclusive economic zone and coastal patrol, anti-smuggling, search and rescue operations and for anti-piracy operations. The vessels have a secondary role of providing communication link and escort convoys during hostilities and war time.
