The Indian Coast Guard’s Fast Patrol Vessel, ICGS Kanaklata Barua, which was commissioned at Kolkata on September 30, joined the Kakinada Coast Guard fleet on Sunday for permanent basing for patrolling the Andhra Pradesh coast.
ICGS Kanaklata Barua is the fourth patrolling vessel on the Kakinada coast.
Built with indigenous technology, it is equipped with navigation and communication systems. It is one of the fifth FPVs built by the M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited at Kolkata.
According to an official release, the 51-meter-long vessel can sustain a speed of up to 35 nautical miles per hour.
“The vessel is capable of operation in the coastal area in the Maritime Zones of India, which includes the island territories. It will be deployed for coastal and offshore patrolling,” the release said.
Commanded by Commandant (JG) Subhash Kapoor, the vessel, with 33 men onboard, would be under the administrative and operational command of the Headquarters of the Coast Guard in Kakinada.