Commissioning of IPV ICGS Rajdoot
April 22, 2013: Indian Coast Guard Ship Rajdoot, the sixth in the series of eight inshore patrol vessels (IPVs), designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata, was commissioned at Kolkata by Arunava Dutt, IDAS, the Controller General of Defence Accounts in the presence of Inspector General K.C. Pande, Commander Coast Guard Region (Northeast) and other senior dignitaries of the Central and state government.
The 50-metre indigenous IPV displaces 300 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 34 knots, with an endurance of 1,500 nautical miles at an economical speed of 16 knots. Equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and navigational equipment, it makes an ideal platform for undertaking multifarious close-coast missions such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue, and medical evacuation. The special features of the ship include an integrated bridge management system (IBMS), integrated machinery control system (IMCS) and an integrated gun mount with indigenous fire control system (FCS).
ICGS "Rajdoot", meaning "royal messenger", will be based at New Mangalore under the administrative and operational control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (West). The ship will enhance the Indian Coast Guard’s capability to undertake operations to further maritime and coastal security on the Western Seaboard.
With the commissioning of ICGS Rajdoot, the force level of ICG has gone up to 82 ships and boats. With the planned inductions, the ICG force level is slated to double by the end of the decade. The ship is commanded by Commandant Anupam Rai and has a crew of five officers and 30 enrolled personnel.
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