TEAM HERALD
VASCO: The Indian Coast Guard, Goa launched the first Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) at Goa Shipyard Ltd on Wednesday.
Rachna Thapliyal launched the Coast Guard ship in the presence of Director General Indian Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal, AVSM & Bar, IG SPS Basra Commander Coast Guard Region West, Rear Admiral B S Parhar, Glag Officer Commanding Goa Area, Rear Admiral Shekar Mithal Chairman and Managing Director, Goa Shipyard Ltd, Power Minister Milind Naik and Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida.
Speaking on the occasion, chief guest, Anurag Thapliyal, recalled the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai six years ago and said: “Wednesday being November 26, 2014, this day is of immense significance to the nation and Indian Coast Guard, as six years ago a bunch of foreign terrorists armed with automatic weapons took the sea route and caused unprecedented horror, mayhem, death and destruction in Mumbai.”
“The date 26/11 has become synonymous to the mention of terror in the country, aka the way 9/11 is to USA, where many innocent and young lives were lost in the terror attack,” added Thapliyal.
“Today is a day to renew our pledge and our commitment to enhance the scourge of terror from our soil and seas by mounting unrelenting efforts to secure our maritime waters. Our war on terror is a task which is non-negotiable and requires all resources,” said Vice Admiral Thapliyal.
“The ghastly event of 26/11 also brought in a sense of realisation in the government and security community, the gaps that existed in our overall maritime security and since then many serious measures have been initiated on various fronts to strengthen our maritime security,” he added.
Mithal said the launching of the Coast Guard OPV is GSL’s commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This is the first of the series of six OPV’s designed in-house and being built by GSL for Coast Guard,” added Mithal.
Mithal said the design incorporated will improve habitability, operability and survivability of the ship besides leading to reduction of fuel-related cost.
