Mumbai:
Post the recent oil spill along the Mumbai harbour and the palpable need to control and combat pollution and protect marine life, the Indian Coast Guard got its first pollution control vessel commissioned on Saturday.
Named ICGS Samudra Prahari, it was commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai in the presence of chief minister Ashok Chavan, flag officer, commanding in chief Western Naval Command vice admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, and other senior officers from defence and Maharashtra government.
Bhasin said, "Samudra Prahari will be deployed extensively for EEZ surveillance and such other duties. Because of heavy trade, the possibility of accidents leading to marine pollution cannot be ruled out. In such cases, this vessel will be useful."
ICGS Samudra Prahari will be manned by 10 officers and 10 sailors. It will be commanded by deputy inspector general Manoj Baadkar and will be under the Coast Guard West Region. The vessel has been equipped with pollution response equipment to mitigate oil spills, and has been built by ABG shipyard Ltd, Surat.
Copyright restricted. Under license from
www.3dsyndication.com