Hydrographic survey vessel INS Makar dedicated to nation

Karwar, September 22: Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, on Friday dedicating hydrographic survey vessel INS Makar to the country, at the Seabird Naval Base here.

The vessel, with a catamaran hull form, was built by Gujarat government-owned company Alcock Ashdown Limited. The ship's keel was laid on April 24, 2008 and she was launched on February 3, 2010 at Bhavanagar.

The primary role of the ship was to undertake hydrographic surveys to improve maritime safety. She is equipped with an array of modern surveying equipment and can undertake limited oceanographic surveys towards providing marine environmental data.

The ship was propelled by four engines and two-bow thrusters. The ship has two survey motor boats.

The entire propulsion, navigational and power management packages of the vessel were integrated in a single state-of-the-art system called Integrated Platform Management System, the naval officers said.

The equipment for hydrographic survey included autonomous underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for closer investigations, advanced electronic positioning system, multi-beam swath sounding system and sub-bottom profiler.

The ship was provided with a caravan which houses air-conditioned data processing facilities. The ship can accommodate six officers and 44 sailors.

Installation of Radars

Speaking to media persons on the occasion Sinha said radars will be installed all along the eastern and the western coasts and on the islands under the Coastal Radar Chain, to tighten security in the country's coastal region.

The radars have already been installed in the coastal regions of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and in some parts of Karnataka, he said. A separate control room will be set up to monitor the radars after they are installed across the country's coastline.

The radars will initially help identify ships. Later, the place of origin of the ship and its motive could be ascertained, he said.

It is proved that terrorists are entering the country through sea. Hence, an automatic identification system will be launched in the coastal areas, he said. The coastal states have been urged to collect details of people coming in boats for work for security reasons.

Lauding Tamil Nadu, Sinha said the State had gone a step ahead and introduced a 'token' system for fishing boats.

Patrolling has been increased in the sea and as a result piracy has reduced, Sinha said adding that the Navy, the Coast Guard and other security forces were jointly patrolling the waters.