PANAJI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday commissioned the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) first pollution-control vessel, ‘Samudra Pratap’, the first indigenously designed vessel of its kind and the largest in the ICG fleet.
Singh said the vessel, which has over 60 per cent indigenous content, embodied India’s mature defence industrial ecosystem, which can effectively handle complex manufacturing challenges, adding that efforts are underway to increase indigenous content in ships to 90%.
“India’s grand maritime vision, which recognises that marine resources are not the property of any one country, but the collective inheritance of humanity. And when the inheritance is collective, then protection also needs to be collective. It is for this reason that India today strongly stands up at an international level for peace, stability and environmental responsibility. When the world is moving towards global maritime uncertainty, then India has repeatedly proven that this is not just India’s interest but keeps the entire Indo-Pacific region secure,” Singh said.
“Today, we face technology-driven, multidimensional, and constantly changing threats. In such a situation, the Indian Coast Guard cannot only be a reactionary force, but a proactive one, and the government is with you in this journey,” he said.
“I’ve been told that Samudra Paratap has been specially designed for pollution control. But its role will not be limited to this. It will be equally capable in search and rescue, equally effective in coastal patrol and equally important in maritime safety. This means that on this one ship, on this platform, several capabilities have been integrated. This modern approach is needed to address today’s maritime challenges. Here, flexibility and readiness are both equally important,” he added.
The coast guard said the 114.5-metre vessel, built by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), represents a significant advancement in indigenous ship design and construction. The ship can achieve speeds exceeding 22 knots and is equipped with advanced automation and computerised control systems, underscoring India’s growing capability in complex shipbuilding.
“In recent years, we have seen that marine pollution has shown up as a serious challenge. And when that happens, the livelihoods of fishermen, the future of the coastal people and the security of the coming generations will all be affected. In this era when we can see climate change and global warming, marine environment protection is not just a strategic necessity, but our moral responsibility,” he said.
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