Indian Navy to induct 60 more ships in coming years to secure coast

Mumbai: The Indian Navy, to strengthen the coastal security of the nation, is planning to induct 60 ships of various sizes and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is planning to induct 80 more vessels of various sizes in the coming years, revealed sources.

According to official sources, the Navy currently has 140 ships of various sizes and the ICG has 120 vessels that cater to various needs.

After the 26/11 attacks on the city, the Navy is keeping a close eye on coastal security to prevent any trespassing. In the last one year, in a bid to stop intrusion into Indian waters, fishing boats all across the coastal states were given a colour code. Fishermen were also brought into the loop and asked to raise an alarm if they noticed anything unusual, said a top officer from ICG.

“Last time in September, a pre-arrival notification system was established in Gurugram. This system can locate all the arriving boats, and gives a notification, so now every ship has to report to us three days prior to their arrival. If our system detects no arrival data of the ship appearing in the radar, then local naval and ICG ships get an alert to take further action,” explained a top defence official from Delhi.

According to a top Navy official, having learnt from the 26/11 attacks, the Navy and ICG are focusing on sharing inputs with other agencies and establishing good coordination  between the two agencies.