INS Sunayna, largest naval offshore patrol vessel, commissioned

To be soon deployed on anti-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden

The Indian Navy inducted into service its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV), 

INS Sunayna, at the Southern Naval Command here on Tuesday.

Vice-Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the 

command who commissioned the 105-metre long ship, designed and built 

by the public sector Goa Shipyard, told the media that the OPV added to

 the command’s teeth and that it would soon be deployed for anti-piracy operations

 in the Gulf of Aden.

Commending Goa Shipyard for delivering a state-of-the-art vessel — which

 displaces 2,200 tonnes and is fitted with the most advanced communication,

 navigation and electronic warfare equipment besides a 76-mm SRGM 

(Super Rapid Gun Mount), and close-in weapon system (CIWS) — the 

Vice-Admiral said with an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles, the vessel was 

ideal to carry out a range of maritime security operations including anti-piracy patrol, anti-poaching campaigns and monitoring of the vital sea lines of communication

 along the Indian Ocean. It was to the yard’s credit that the vessel was delivered

 with zero work pending, he said.

The mandate of the Navy was to secure national interest in the Indian Ocean Region,

 a vital theatre of strategic importance, and INS Sunayna would strengthen

 the force’s capability to attain this, he said, adding the vessel would see 

extensive deployment around the Lakshadweep archipelago as well.

Commander Aftab Ahmed Khan will be the commissioning commanding

 officer of INS Sunayna, which will have a complement of eight officers 

and 105 sailors.

The NOPV — the second in the class after INS Saryu was added to the naval

 inventory in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands earlier this year — is expected

 to bridge the crucial gap in the Southern Naval Command’s long-endurance

 patrol capability in the wake of the conversion of OPV INS Sujata into a cadet

 training vessel over a year ago. The vessel can embark an advanced light

 helicopter (ALH) or a Chetak search and rescue helicopter.

Two more vessels of the class, under construction at Goa Shipyard, would be

 delivered to the Navy between this year-end and mid-2014, said Commodore

 (Retd) Prabhat Shrivastava, Director (Corporate Planning, Projects and

 Business Development) of Goa Shipyard.


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