Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Pratap arrives in Kochi

Kochi: Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship Samudra Pratap, the first of two pollution control vessels built by Goa Shipyard Ltd, arrived on Thursday. A formal welcome ceremony was held at the Indian Coast Guard Jetty, Fort Kochi, to mark the arrival of the ship.The ship is set to significantly enhance ICG's operational capabilities in pollution response, maritime fire-fighting and environmental protection. Its primary area of operations will encompass Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), along with Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep Islands. The ship was formally commissioned into Coast Guard on Jan 5 in Goa by defence minister Rajnath Singh, in the presence of Paramesh Sivamani, director general, ICG. The ship was assigned to Coast Guard district headquarters-4 (Kerala & Mahe), with Kochi, as its base. The indigenously developed ship measures 114.5m in length and can reach a maximum speed of 22 knots. To support its specialised mission, ICGS Samudra Pratap is equipped with advanced pollution detection and containment systems, specialised pollution response boats and recovery equipment, an integrated bridge system (IBS), an integrated platform management system (IPMS), an automated power management system and a high power modern fire-fighting system. The ship is further designed to carry a helicopter and four high-speed boats for boarding operations, search and rescue and law enforcement. Built to withstand diverse sea conditions, the vessel features a modern surveillance system and the robust capacity required to contain major oil spills at sea. This is also the first ICG ship on which two women officers are appointed as permanent staff.