Coastal patrolling, anti-pirate, anti-smuggling, search and rescue operations by the Navy got a push on Thursday with the commissioning of a water jet fast attack craft (WJFAC) INS Karuva at the naval base here.
Indigenous content
INS Karuva, last of the 10 such vessels built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) of Kolkata with 90 per cent indigenous content, was commissioned by Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command Air Marshal K.J. Mathews.
Incidentally, it was for the first time that an Air Force officer is commissioning a naval ship, as noted by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command Anup Singh.
Operational control
The ship would be under INS Kadamba at Karwar under the operational control of the Western Naval Command and deployed along the Konkan coast and Lakshadweep.
Air Marshal Mathews said coastal security was becoming important and 26/11 made the Navy grow stronger. The Navy was performing its huge tasks successfully and INS Karuva would improve its performance.
The Navy's efforts at indigenisation were reflected in INS Karuva, he noted and hoped INS Karuva would perform better “as it has a soul of an airman.”
Seamless protection
Vice-Admiral Anup Singh said commissioning of INS Karuva indicated that the Navy was becoming a builders' Navy from a buyers' Navy. Calling this ship and other fast attack crafts (FACs) as greyhounds, he said they would provide seamless protection in the forward line.
Delivery completed
With the commissioning of INS Karuva, the GRSE had completed delivery of 10 FACs to the Navy, handing over the last three ships in just three-and-half months, said its Chairman and Managing Director K.C. Sekhar. The keel of the present ship was laid on June 29, 2009.
INS Karuva, named after an island in Kerala, has a displacement of 325 tonnes and is equipped with a 30 mm CRN-91 gun produced by the Ordinance Factory at Medak with a range of 4 km, and other weapons. It has a complement of four officers and 39 sailors.
INS Koswari, commissioned here on July 12, is also based at Karwar.
Commanding Officer of the ship Lt. Commander Manish Kumar Rai and Commanding Officer of INS Kadamba Capt. Surprobho K De were present.
Rear Admiral (retd.) Sekhar said the GRSE order book was worth Rs. 8,000 crore with orders placed for four anti-submarine warfare vessels and eight inshore petrol vessels by the Navy and one offshore petrol vessel by the Mauritius government.
