The Coast Guard on Thursday commissioned two Interceptor Boats (IBs) — C-431 and C-432 — to further strengthen the coastal security mechanism along the Tamil Nadu Coast.
The boats will be used for day and night patrolling and surveillance, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, anti-terror, anti-smuggling operations and fisheries protection and monitoring, a defence press release said.
“The boats are equipped with state-of-the-art sensors including sophisticated navigational and latest communication systems, and are capable of operating in tropical conditions with expected life span of more than 15 years. These IBs can achieve speed in excess of 40 Knots,” according to the release.
The IBs have been designed and built indigenously by Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding, Kattupalli.
Following extensive trials on the equipment and machinery, the boats were commissioned into service, the press release said.
The IBs were commissioned by Lt. Gen. Rajan Ravindran, Commandant, Officer’s Training Academy, Chennai.
The boats are part of building 36 Interceptor Boats as per a contract signed by the Ministry of Defence and L&T in 2010, and will be based in Chennai and Karaikal.
