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2016-03-01
ADVANCED INDIAN PATROL VESSEL ON GULF GOODWILL TOUR
Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS)Sankalp is the fifth Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) of the Indian Coast Guard. It has been indigenously designed and built by M/s Goa Shipyard. ‘Sankalp’ means ‘Determination’. The vessel is 105 meters long, draws 2300 tons and is propelled by 7710 KW twin diesel engines to a maximum speed of 25 knots. At economical speed, she has an endurance of 6500 nautical miles and can stay at sea for 25 days without any replenishment thus justifying its motto ‘Extending the Horizon’.
By Sakha Pramod
The ship has visited many foreign ports on goodwill visits during overseas deployments. DIG Mukul Garg, Commanding Officer, ICGS Sankalp on a goodwill visit to the Gulf spoke to Nation Shield.
Is this your first goodwill visit after you took over the command of ICGS Sankalp?
Yes, this is my first visit in the present commission; however, in the past ICGS Sankalp has had the privilege to visit many Southeast Asian countries including the maiden visit by the ship to Australia in Dec 2014.
What are the objectives of this goodwill visit?
The ship is presently on an overseas deployment to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. In addition to goodwill, the visit aims at enhancing the cooperation between the Coast Guard agencies of the region for effective coordination of maritime search &rescue, combating transnational crimes at sea and response to marine pollution. Another aim of the visit is to develop linkages for sharing of information, expertise and training resources for mutual capacity building and enabling more safe and secure seas around us.
You have capabilities for surface and air operations. Can you give details?
The ship’s strength lies in its crew i.e. the 10 officers and 104 men who are highly motivated to undertake all tasks with alacrity. Additionally, the ship is equipped with the most advanced sophisticated navigational and communication sensors. ICGS Sankalp is capable of embarking Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Chetak helicopters. The special features of the ship includes an Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS), Power Management System (PMS), external fire fighting system and two indigenously built medium range 30 mm gun mounts with a remote control firing provision.
These capabilities provide extended reach while carrying out surveillance at sea. The ship is designed to carry one twin-engine helicopter and five high speed boats for search & rescue, maritime law enforcement, EEZ surveillance, interdiction and marine pollution response missions.
Your tasks include saving human lives at sea and helping fishermen in danger. UAE is a maritime state and so do you think Indian Coast Guard can work with the UAE in this?
India has a Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR) of approximately 4.6 million sq. kms. The Indian Coast Guard has been assigned the responsibility for providing Search and Rescue in the ISRR. Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) located at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair coordinate all cases pertaining to the Search and Rescue in the ISRR. These MRCCs are assisted by the Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Sub Centres (MRSCs) co-located with the Coast Guard District HQs in each of the Coastal State of India.
Further, for effective Search and Resecue (SAR) efforts, ICG has linkages with littoral SAR service providing agencies for effective coordination of maritime search and rescue services. This is also in accordance with the international obligations of the signatory countries under the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue and International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
We have a considerable flow of traffic between ports in India and UAE, especially traditional dhows which form the lifeline of the regional supply chain. Due to the vastness of the waters between us, effective SAR operations could only be executed through coordination amongst the Regional MRCCs. As no single agency has the capability to cover the whole region, pooling in of the best suited resources, be it public or private, is the key to safer seas. Towards this the ICG would like to strengthen its linkages with the UAE maritime SAR agencies for effective coordination of SAR services.
I am happy to state that our efforts have yielded return and we have been able to save, 6948 lives in distress at sea since inception, in addition to 220 medical evacuations conducted for seafarers in critical conditions thereby living up to our motto ‘Vayam Rakshamah’ which means ‘We Protect’.
Indian Coast Guard helps preserve marine diversity and try to stop poachers. Do you have plans to share capabilities and knowhow in this with other countries like the UAE?
The ICG is committed to preservation of marine diversity and towards this every year we conduct operation ‘Olive Ridley’ every year to protect the endangered species of Olive Ridley turtles which nest in the east coast of India for laying their eggs. Over the years we have been successfully deterring the poaching of these turtles. The operation has given a considerable amount of experience in dealing with such preservation of bio diversity issues. The ICG is willing to exchange this expertise with relevant Agencies.
The Indian Coast Guard undertakes audit of major ports preparedness to deal with any oil spill incident and inspects the pollution response equipment that each Indian port has in its inventory. The Indian Coast Guard has also addressed the issue of training and has trained more than 1000 personnel at basic level. The Indian Coast Guard also assists various stakeholders in preparation of contingency plans and vets these plans prior to their operationalization.
As UAE has a considerable experience in handling oil and related contingencies, we feel that, we have a lot to share in terms of experiences and procedures which could shorten our learning curves. Moreover, in case of any incident at sea leading to a threat to marine environment, we will be better placed to cooperate and coordinate our response.
Do you have any exchange programs with Gulf countries?
Presently, the ICG does not have any institutionalised exchange mechanism with the Gulf countries. However, we are looking forward to developing such exchanges in the field of maritime law enforcement, Maritime Search & Rescue and marine pollution response. This is also one of the aims of this visit.
Considering the very long coastline India has, how challenging is the Coast Guard’s job?
India has a long coastline of 7516 kms. Constant vigil along the coast is maintained through coordination amongst multiple agencies including the Indian Coast Guard which tasks air and surface units for dedicated surveillance in the areas vulnerable to the threat from anti-national activities. Surveillance operations are also being undertaken by CG units in coordination with Navy, marine police, customs and other stake holders. In addition, we also have an established mechanism for information sharing with littoral Coast Guard agencies to curtail transnational crimes.
Do you have information sharing with countries in the Gulf as some of the problems you face may overlap?
Presently, the ICG does not have any mechanism of information sharing with UAE agencies. However, we are engaging with Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority (CICPA) and soon expected to have such an information sharing mechanism in place.
Please tell us about your other programs if any in the Gulf after the visit to the UAE.
As I told you, the ship is presently on an overseas deployment to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. After departing from Port Rashid on 7 Feb 16 the ship goes to Muscat on 9 Feb 16 and is scheduled to remain in Muscat till 13 Feb 16, thereafter we set course for India to reach on 15 Feb 16.
To what extent does these goodwill visits help in building maritime security in the region?
As you are aware ‘United through Oceans’ is the motto of the International Fleet Review 16 being conducted by Indian Navy at Vishakhapatnam. On similar lines ICG also, through various measures intends to reach out to its littoral maritime law enforcement agencies for addressing issues of common concern. Goodwill visits form a part of such initiatives.
Ships on goodwill visit, not only carry the flag but also the culture and traditions of the country. These visits give us the opportunity to not only develop professional linkages, but also provide an opportunity for people-to-people interaction, leading to friendship and inculcation of confidence in each other, which facilitates easier communication and information sharing.
We also utilize this opportunity to exercise with other Coast Guard Agencies. The aim of these Combined Coast Guard exercises is to interact with Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies of the respective States to ascertain the areas of common interest and evolve a working and professional relationship in the field of Maritime Search & Rescue, pollution response and other duties related to the Coast Guard charter and to work towards making the seas around ‘safe and secure’. With limited resources at the disposal of agencies responsible for meeting maritime challenges in the region, it is essential to evolve bilateral & multilateral co-operation and work towards sustainable regional cooperation.
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