Security in the Indian Ocean Region and the larger Indo-Pacific has many aspects and the Navy has to always remain proactive in tackling security threats, says Prez
Shoib Moin in Kolkata
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu today launched Vindhyagiri – the sixth ship of project 17A of Indian Navy at Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers Limited (GRSE), here. West Bengal Chief Miniter Mamata Banerjee also grace the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the launch of Vindhyagiri marks a move forward in enhancing India’s maritime capabilities. It is also a step towards achieving the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat through indigenous shipbuilding. Project 17A of which Vindhyagiri is a part reflects our commitment to self-reliance and technological advancement. This project demonstrates indigenous innovation for developing state-of-the-art technology.
“India is the fifth largest economy in the world and we are striving to become the third largest economy in the near future” President said adding that growing economy means higher volumes of trade and huge part of our trade-goods transit through the seas which highlights the importance of oceans to our growth and well-being.
The President said that the security in the Indian Ocean Region and the larger Indo-Pacific has many aspects and the Navy has to always remain proactive in tackling security threats.
Vindhyagiri named after a mountain range in Karnataka. It is the sixth ship of the Project 17A Frigates.The state-of-the-art ship will be fitted with the latest gadgets and undergo extensive trials before being handed over to the Indian Navy for commissioning into service, officials familiar with the matter said.
P17A ships are guided missile frigates, each 149 metres long, with a displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes and a speed of 28 knots, according to a GRSE official.
These warships are follow-ons of the Shivalik class Project 17 frigates with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems and are capable of neutralising threats in all three dimensions of air, surface and subsurface, the defence ministry informed.
The old INS Vindhyagiri, a Nilgiri class frigate, was commissioned on July 8, 1982, which caught fire in 2011, after colliding with merchant vessel MV Nordlake, owned by a German company, off the Mumbai coast. The ship was attached to the western naval command. It sank in the Mumbai naval dockyard. It was refloated and restored, and finally decommissioned in 2012. Eleven years later, Indian Navy has decided to launch it in its new avatar.