L&T builds coast guard ship 'Varaha', its 51st offshore patrol vessel

The Coast Guard ship 'Varaha' launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Chennai recently was the 51st such vessel built by Larsen and Toubro.

Larsen and Toubro Shipyard Ltd had been mandated by the Ministry of Defence for design and construction of seven offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) in 2014.

Similar to the previous OPVs built by city-based L&T Shipyard Ltd at Kattuppalli port, ICGS Vikram, ICGS Vijaya and ICGS Veera and ICGS Varaha were delivered ahead of the schedule, a press release said.

During the coming weeks, Larsen and Toubro said the fifth OPV Varad which was launched was getting ready for taking up sea trials.

Larsen and Toubro CEO and managing director S N Subrahmanyan said, "L&T is proud to have designed and constructed 35 per cent of the ships in service of Indian Coast Guard".

"On this historic occasion of inducting a L&T-built vessel for the Coast Guard into operational service, we reaffirm our commitment to deliver cutting-edge defence technology to our armed forces," he said on the commissioning of ICGS Varaha by Rajnath Singh at Chennai Port Trust.

Larsen and Toubro was currently engaged in building high-speed patrol vessels for exports to the South East Asian region under the country's 'Look East-Act East Policy,' the release said.

L&T Shipbuilding managing director and CEO B Kannan said, "L&T is the only shipyard that has effectively implemented many of the Industry 4.0 practices encompassing complete ship design and construction processes".

"These practices assure quality, speed, safety and modularity in warship construction leading to early delivery of defence vessels into service. We have also built a rich pool of human resources that is at par with global best in critical shipbuilding technologies", he said.

'Varaha' refers to the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu who took the form of a boar to rescue Goddess Earth from the ocean by lifting her on his tusks.

'Varaha' is the projection of Coast Guard's will and commitment 'to serve and protect' the maritime interest of the country.

The ship has been designed and built indigenously by Larsen and Toubro and is fitted with state-of-the-art communication technology and navigation, sensor and machinery.

The vessel is equipped with a 30-mm gun and a 12.7-mm gun for enhancing the fighting efficiency of the vessel.

Some of its special features include integrated bridge system, automated power management system, high-power external firefighting system, indigenously built integrated platform management system and help traversing system.