Bharat SainiLast Updated on November 28, 2017 by Bharat Saini
“Vikram”, Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS), Lead Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), entirely developed in-house by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and India’s first-ever such defence craft to be built in an Indian private shipyard in a record time frame, was launched by Smt. Jyoti Murthy in the presence of V S R Murthy, Additional Director General, Indian Coast Guard, Vice Admiral B. Kannan (Retd), MD & CEO L&T Shipbuilding, and other dignitaries; at a function at Kattupalli Shipyard near Chennai on Friday 27 October 2017. This is the first of a series of seven such OPVs for which Rs 1,432-crore contract had been awarded by the Ministry of Defence in March 2015. As per the contract, the first vessel was slated to be delivered in March 2018 and subsequent vessels at intervals of 6 months. “Vikram” is likely to be commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard in April 2018 after completion of extensive trials of equipment and machineries, and would be deployed for day and night surveillance patrol, search and rescue and in pollution response operations in exclusive economic zones of the country:
- Vikram is equipped with modern weapon and state-of- the-art radars, navigation and communication systems capable of operating in tropical conditions
- OPVs are long-range surface ships capable of coastal and offshore patrolling, policing maritime zones, control & surveillance, anti-smuggling & anti-piracy operations with limited wartime roles
- About 60% components of the ship were sourced from domestic suppliers
- Vikram will have Integral Twin Engine Helicopter which will enhance its operational, surveillance, search and rescue capabilities
- The ship is fitted with one 30 mm automatic gun and two 12.7 mm guns with Fire Control System (FCS)
- It has 3.6 m Draught, i.e. the distance between the surface of the water and the lowest point of the vessel
- Vessel’s Displacement tonnage is 2,140 tonnes. It is the weight of the ship, measured indirectly by measuring the water displaced by the hull of the ship up to the waterline
- Its Range is 5,000 NM. NM is the distance that can be covered by the ship without stopping for refuelling. NM or Nautical Mile is a unit of measurement defined as 1852 meters. Historically, it was defined as one minute of latitude, equivalent to one sixtieth of a degree of latitude.
- Vessel is built to attain sustained Speed of up to 26 knots. Knot is the measurement of speed at sea. One knot is 1.852 km/hr
- The vessel is 97m long &15m wide
The entire design and construction processes of the Vessel have undergone dual certification from the American Bureau of Shipping and Indian Registrar of Shipping and the project is being overseen by the Indian Coast Guard’s resident team at Kattupalli shipyard
