Chennai: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday lauded the commissioning of state-of-the-art Coast Guard Ship, ‘Vigraha’ and appreciated the significant improvement in the coastal defense capability.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG)’s offshore patrol vessel (OPV), the Defence Minister said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be present amongst all of you on the occasion of commissioning of state-of-the-art Coast Guard Ship, ‘Vigraha’ today.”
“The commissioning of this ship showcases significant improvement in our coastal defense capability as also our ever-increasing ‘self-reliance’ in the defense sector. This ship is 100 meters long and equipped with the latest technologies of the day. Be it the navigation system or communication equipment, sensors or other installed equipment, all these are going to meet the needs not only of today but also the future for a long time to come,” Singh said.
The Defence Minister further said, “I will not go into much technical details about the ship, but I will definitely say a couple of things about which I am very happy. First, from its design conception to development, the ship is completely indigenous.”
“The Journey of growth of our Indian Coast Guard, which began with a modest 5-7 small boats, has today grown to over 20,000 active personnel, over 150 vessels, and a fleet of over 65 aircraft. Since its inception, in the last 40-45 years, the Indian Coast Guard has made its mark at the international level by playing a leading role in coastal security as well as in maritime crises, and disasters,” Singh said.