15 January, 2016. Indian Coast Guard Ship Samudra Pavak, the third and last in the series of three 95m Pollution Control Vessels (PCVs) was commissioned at Porbandar by
G Mohan Kumar, Defence Secretary on 14 Jan 16 in the presence of Vice Admiral HCS Bisht AVSM, Director General Indian Coast Guard, ADG SPS Basra YSM, PTM, TM, Coast Guard Commander (Western Seaboard), Rishi Agarwal, CMD ABG Shipyard and other senior dignitaries of the Central and State Government.
The ship is equipped with the most advanced pollution Response and Control equipment for mitigating oil spill in the Exclusive Economic Zone. In addition, this specialist PCV can perform activities like oil containment, recovery, oil separation and dispersion of pollutants. The availability of 02 rigid sweeping arms enables the containment of oil spill in motion as well. The 95 meter long ship with 4500 tones can achieve a maximum speed of 20.5 knots. The vessel is fitted with state of-the-art navigation and communication equipment.
The ship, on joining the Coast Guard Fleet will be based at Porbandar. She will be deployed extensively for EEZ surveillance and other duties as enshrined in the Coast Guard Charter. The vessel will strengthen the security umbrella over 1600 km long coast of Gujarat. ICGS Samudra Pavak is manned by a complement of 11 Officers and 100 men and commanded by Deputy Inspector General Satish Kumar, TM under the overall command and control of Commander, Regional Headquarters (North West).
The basing of the Pollution Control Vessel at Porbandar is an imperative necessitated by its proximity to the oil bearing SLOCs and the fragile marine biodiversity. The Gulf of Kutch with its rich biodiversity, living resources, fisheries, coral reefs & mangrove vegetation, and swampy lands around the coast produces 71% of the nation’s common salt and consequent high vulnerability merits the positioning of the Pollution Response Vessel for prompt response to any oil spill contingencies.
