Kerala - Kochi

Economic meltdown: Coast Guard not spared

Kochi: The Indian Coast Guard will not have unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for surveillance and reconnaissance, for now. It will “share the assets” of the Navy, which has achieved progress in development of rotary wing Chetak UAVs.

In the city to inaugurate a new administrative complex in the Coast Guard district headquarters, the outgoing Director-General, Vice-Admiral Rustom Faramroze Contractor, said: “The financial meltdown hasn’t spared us… and in times of austerity, there has to be asset-sharing which is true for not only UAVs but berths as well. Otherwise, there would be duplication of effort.”

However, the 15-year perspective plan of the Coast Guard, launched in 2007, is on course as also its five-year plan, which is co-terminus with the 11th five-year Plan. With continental shelf delineation likely by 2009, the Coast Guard’s responsibility would increase. There would be a concurrent enhancement in its capabilities, too.

“Requests for proposals have already gone out for purchase of six multimission, multirole jets. We are also looking to induct twin-engine helicopters with radars on board. This is to assist fishermen in distress as a lot of them go missing during monsoon,” said Vice-Admiral Contractor.

Also on the cards was induction this month of the advanced offshore patrol vessel Samrat with a modern integrated bridge and machinery management system, subject to completion of trials. As part of its major coastal security plan, the Coast Guard would open bases at Veraval in Gujarat and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, with an airfield in the latter. “There is also a proposal to set up base at Kamurtha in the Andamans,” he said.

Asked about the threat from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Vice-Admiral Contractor said: “We are guarding our coastal area well. Both the Coast Guard and the Navy are carrying out coordinated patrols. Also, we have a system of sharing information between the Indian Navy and the Sri Lankan Navy to ensure that there is as much surveillance as possible and that we apprehend infiltrators or illegal migrants.”

Lauding the efforts of the Singapore-based, 14-nation governing council for Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery, of which he is vice-chairman, Vice-Admiral Contractor said information sharing and capacity-building had almost nullified piracy in the Malacca and Singapore straits.

“The hotbed of piracy has shifted towards the Arabian Sea. Hundreds of ships pass through the Gulf region both for the Arabian Gulf and through the Arabian Sea to the Malacca strait. It is in everybody’s interest to free it from piracy,” he added.

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