VASCO
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) achieved a milestone with the formal handing over of the first Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) ‘Samudra Pratap’ to the Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday.
The ceremony was held at GSL and graced by DIG V K Parmar, PD (MAT), ICG; Brajesh Kumar Upadhyay, Chairman & Managing Director, GSL; RAdm Nelson D’Souza, NM, IN (Retd), Director (Operations), GSL; Jahangeer Alam Ansari, Director (Finance), GSL; senior officials from GSL; and the ship’s crew led by Commanding Officer (Designate) DIG A K Bhama of ICGS Samudra Pratap, CGRPS DIG Dipu CR and Indian Coast Guard officials.
ICG Samudra Pratap is the first in a series of two hybrid PCVs developed in-house by GSL for combating oil spills at sea. It is the largest ship in the Indian Coast Guard fleet as on date, significantly enhancing the Coast Guard’s operational reach and capability.
The vessel is the first ICG PCV to be fitted with hull-flushed side sweeping arms, enabling efficient oil spill containment while underway, retractable stern thrusters, providing superior manoeuvrability during pollution response and station-keeping operations.
Further strengthening its role as a specialised pollution response platform, Samudra Pratap is the most powerful fire-fighting capable ship in the ICG fleet, certified with FiFi-2 / FFV-2 notation, and is also the first Indian Coast Guard ship to be equipped with Dynamic Positioning capability (DP-1), ensuring high precision operations in demanding sea conditions.
Measuring 114.5 metres in length and 16.5 metres in breadth, with a displacement of 4,170 tonnes, the vessel will be manned by 14 officers and 115 sailors. It is equipped with advanced systems to detect oil spills, recover pollutants ranging from light to highly viscous oil, analyse contaminants, separate oil from contaminated water and store it safely onboard, enabling comprehensive pollution response operations within the Exclusive Economic Zone and beyond.
The delivery of Samudra Pratap marks GSL’s fourth vessel delivery in the last six months, reaffirming its role as a key contributor to India’s maritime security and environmental protection capabilities.
