After taking salute of a 50-man guard and inspecting the ceremonial guard, outgoing Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Chopra commissioned three immediate support vessels (ISVs) constituting the 83rd Squadron at the Naval Dockyard here on Wednesday.
It is a Red Letter Day for the premier Operational Command of the Indian Navy as the three craft would strengthen the capability of the Navy in furthering its mandate of maritime safety and security of the offshore development areas (ODAs) and coastal security on the Eastern Seaboard, he noted.
He thanked the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation for providing the craft to help the Navy in protecting the ODAs. These ships would help the Navy in patrolling the waters off the Eastern Seaboard along with the Coast Guard and the Maritime Police.
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He congratulated the three young officers who were being given independent command – Lieutenant Abhinash Kumar, Lt Mayuresh Singh and Lt Pradeep Singh Ranawat – and urged them to set the benchmarks for SOPs of the new craft that were joining the fleet.
The three craft are part of the nine ISVs that would join the fleet of the ENC. They have been designed and built by Abu Dhabi Ship Builders (ADSB) and Rodman 78, Spain.
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The project is a joint collaboration between ONGC, ADSB and the Indian Navy, Naval Officer In Charge in Andhra Pradesh Captain Satish Uniyal said.
The three commanding officers of T-35, T-36 and T-37 read out the Commissioning Warrants. Hoisting of the Naval Ensign onboard for the first time and ‘Breaking of the Commissioning Penant’ with the National Anthem being played marked the completion of the commissioning ceremony that was attended by Flag Officers and other officers of the ENC along with officials of the ONGC and other oil companies.