INS Koswari, the ninth indigenously built Fast Attack Craft (FAC) of the Navy was commissioned by Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command, at the Naval Base here on Tuesday.
Addressing the gathering, Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh said the importance of defending the nation from various threats from the seafront assumed greater significance after the Mumbai attacks. He called for constant surveillance to prevent smuggling and poaching activities and for protection of vital installations in view of the giant strides of development in offshore areas.
Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh recalled that the Navy had embarked on an indigenisation drive during the late 1970s. INS Koswari, to be based at Karwar, would protect the Konkan coast and improve the punch of the Navy further.
Quoting Jawahar Lal Nehru, he said: “To be secure on land, we must be supreme at sea.” Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh, who lauded the contribution of the Indian Navy, said its dedicated sailors made the Navy respected throughout the world.
Vice-Admiral Anup Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, said INS Koswari was named after an island off Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. The Navy was transforming from a buyer's Navy into a builder's Navy. He recalled that the GRSE (M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., Kolkata) built INS Vijay in 1961, which was later gifted to Bangladesh. The same GRSE had built a new breed of warships for India. He said very few countries could boast of building warships indigenously.
Rear Admiral K.C. Shekar (retired), Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE, said INS Koswari had 90 per cent indigenous content and its design was comparable to similar vessels in its class built abroad. The GRSE earned the Raksha Mantri's Award for excellence in 2007 for design of the new series of Water Jet FACs.
Earlier, Lt. Commander Anil Kumar, Commanding Officer of INS Koswari, read out the Commissioning Warrant. Hoisting of the Naval Ensign onboard for the first time and ‘Breaking of the Commissioning Pennant' with the playing of national anthem marked the ceremony.
