By Staff Reporter — MUSCAT: Feb 6 - The Indian Coast Guard Ship(ICGS), Samudra Pavak, is due to arrive in Muscat on February 10, 2017 at the start of a five-day-long goodwill visit to the Sultanate.
The visit is set to further reinforce existing cooperative ties between India and Oman in the fields of defence and security. The visit also aims at improving cooperation with the Royal Oman Police Coast Guard, the Indian Embassy said in a statement.
Relations between ROP Coast Guard and Indian Coast Guard has been growing from strength to strength. Last year, both Coast Guards signed a MoU on crime prevention and cooperation.
The Commander ROP Coast Guard is presently on an official visit to India on the invitation of Director- General Indian Coast Guard to discuss all facets of bilateral cooperation and to attend a seminar on ‘Regional Cooperation for Safe and Secure Seas’ to mark the 40th anniversary of the Indian Coast Guard.
ICGS Samudra Pavak is the third of the Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) series of the Indian Coast Guard Ships built by ABG Ship Yard Pvt Ltd. Samudra Pavak, which means ‘Purifier of the Seas’ in Hindi, it was commissioned a year ago. The visit of ICGS Samudra Pavak to Oman is the fourth by an Indian Coast Guard Ship in the last four years.
ICGS Samudra Pavak, as a Specialised Marine Pollution Control vessel, is equipped with pollution response and control equipment which includes containment equipment like High Sprint Booms and River Booms; recovery equipment like skimmers and Side Sweeping Arms; storage devices like ORO tanks (Capacity 500 KL) and Inflatable Barges (Capacity 150 KL); and the spraying equipment like Retractable Spill Spray System and Aerial Spray System.
The vessel is based in Porbandar on India’s west coast, thereby enabling it to respond to any pollution related contingencies in an area that witnesses more than 70 per cent of the country’s oil transshipment.
Since its induction into the Coast Guard fleet, ICGS Samudra Pavak has been deployed extensively along the northwest maritime frontier to safeguard the maritime interests of India. It has participated in a tri-lateral DOSTI-XIII exercise with Sri Lankan Coast Guard and Maldives National Defence Forces at Male, Maldives in October 2016 where the ship showcased its Pollution Response, Anti-piracy and SAR capabilities. It was also the frontline ship during the National Level Pollution Response Exercise conducted at Mundra, Gujarat in December 2016.
ICGS Samudra Pavak is manned by 15 Officers and 99 men under the command of Deputy Inspector General Satish Kumar, TM.
The ship is currently in the region as part of a four-nation overseas deployment in the Gulf.
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