The ''Vikram''-class offshore patrol vessel is a series of seven offshore
patrol vessels
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...
(OPV) being built at the Kattupalli shipyard by
L&T Shipbuilding for the
Indian Coast Guard
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and Exclusive economic zone of India, exclusive economic zone. It was st ...
. These are long range surface ships which are capable of coastal and offshore patrolling.
History
In March 2015, L&T Shipbuilding was awarded a contract by the
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
to build seven offshore vessel patrol vessels for the Indian Coast Guard.
The last ship ''Vigraha'' was commissioned by Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who is serving the Defence Minister of India since 20 May 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha since 2014. He also served the Home Minister in th ...
on 28 August 2021.
A merchant ship was escorted back by ICGS Vikram to Indian waters after suffering a drone attack off the arabian coast.
Specification
The class is long, wide, with a
draught and has a
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of 2,140 tonnes. It is capable of maximum speed of with a range of at a cruising speed of . The class will be armed with a
CRN 91 Naval Gun
The Close Range Naval-91 is a naval version of the Medak 30mm automatic gun installed on the Sarath Infantry fighting vehicle, a variant of the Russian (originally Soviet) BMP-2 manufactured in India under license by the AVANI. The Medak gun ...
, two heavy machine guns with fire control system, a helicopter for various operational, surveillance, and
search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
missions. It also has modern radar; navigation and communication systems; front propulsion pods providing high maneuverability. It has been indigenously designed and has undergone dual certification from the
American Bureau of Shipping
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is an American maritime classification society established in 1862. Its stated mission is to promote the security of life, property, and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verific ...
and
Indian Register of Shipping
Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) is an internationally recognised, independent ship classification society, founded in India in 1975. It is a public limited company incorporated under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act 1956 (Section 8 o ...
. The ships would be tasked with the roles of policing maritime zones, control and surveillance, search and rescue, pollution response, anti-smuggling and anti-piracy in the
economic zones
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
of the country.
Ships
Gallery
See also
*
References
{{Ship classes of the Indian Coast Guard
Patrol ship classes
Ships of the Indian Coast Guard
Larsen & Toubro