Indian Coast Guard commissions OPV

The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned its first of class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), ICGS Vikram, at Larsen and Toubro’s (L&T) Defence shipyard at Kattupalli, Tamilnadu, L&T announced on 11 April.

ICGS Vikram is the first of seven new generation OPVs being built by the shipyard under a contract with the  Indian Ministry of Defence awarded in March 2015.

The vessel has completed harbour and sea trials prior to commissioning, and the ship’s design and construction process has been certified by the American Bureau of Shipping and the Indian Registrar of Shipping.

The OPVs are long-range surface ships, equipped to handle helicopter operations and capable of operating in Indian maritime zones including island territories. They will be used to conduct coastal and offshore patrol, control and surveillance, anti-smuggling and anti-piracy operations with limited wartime roles.

The vessel is 97m in length, 15m in width, has 3.6m draught and 2,140t displacement with a range of 5000 nautical miles. It can attain sustained speeds of up to 26kt. The OPVs are built with integrated platform management system and equipped with front propulsion pods high manoeuvrability.

Construction of the remaining OPVs is ongoing; OPV-2 has been launched and is being readied for harbour and sea trials.