Car Nicobar-class patrol vessel

INS Car Nicobar (T69) (foreground) and INS Chetlat (T70) (background)
Class overview
Name: Car Nicobar class
Builders: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Operators:  Indian Navy
Preceded by: Bangaram class
Cost: ₹500 million (US$7.4 million)
In commission: 10
Building: 4
Planned: 14
Completed: 10
Active: 10
General characteristics
Type: Fast attack craft
Displacement: 325 tons
Length: 48.9 m (160 ft)
Depth: 4 m (13 ft)
Propulsion: 3 water jet propulsion engines producing 11,238 hp (8,380 kW)
Speed: 35 kn (65 km/h; 40 mph)+
Range: 2,000 mi (1,700 nmi; 3,200 km) at 12–14 knots (22–26 km/h; 14–16 mph)
Crew: 4 officers and 45 sailors[1]
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Furuno navigation radar
  • Surface search radars
  • Sonar
Armament:

The Car Nicobar class of high-speed offshore patrol vessels are built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for the Indian Navy. The vessels are designed as a cost-effective platform for patrol, anti-piracy and rescue operations in India's Exclusive Economic Zone.

The class and its vessels are named for Indian islands. They are the first water jet propelled vessels of the Indian Navy.[2]

Design

The Car Nicobar-class vessels were designed and built by GRSE. Production of the class was fast-tracked after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The vessels feature improved habitability with fully air-conditioned modular accommodation, on board reverse osmosis plant for desalination, and a sewage treatment plant.[2][3]

The vessels are each powered by three HamiltonJet HM811 water jets, coupled with MTU 16V 4000 M90 engines, delivering a combined 8,160 kW (10,940 hp) of power. An aluminium superstructure reduces weight and is designed to reduce radar cross-section.

As patrol vessels, they are lightly armed. They carry various sensors, including the Furuno navigation radar and sonar. Armament on board includes a 30 mm CRN-91 automatic cannon with an electronic day-night fire control system of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) origin. The vessels also mount two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns (HMG) and multiple medium machine guns, besides carrying shoulder-launched Igla surface-to-air missiles to combat aerial threats.

The first two vessels commissioned were initially restricted to speeds up to 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) due to deficiency in the gearboxes, which was later rectified by KPCL. INS Kabra, the eighth in the class, has a top speed of more than 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The improved maneuverability and speed allows these vessels to have high-speed interdiction of fast-moving targets.[4]

The last 4 ships are an improved variant of the Car Nicobar-class patrol boats and have been dubbed 'follow on waterjet fast attack craft' (FOWJFAC) by the Indian Navy. Improvements include an enhanced electrical power generation capacity of 280 kW and twice the reverse osmosis (RO) capacity at 4 tonnes per day.[5]

Vessels

 Name   Pennant   Yard No.   Builder   Homeport   Launched   Commissioned   Status 
Fleet I
INS Car Nicobar T69 2057 GRSE Chennai 23 November 2007 16 February 2009 Active
INS Chetlat T70 2058 GRSE Chennai 27 November 2007 16 February 2009 Active[6]
INS Kora Divh[7] T71 2059 GRSE Port Blair 16 July 2008 10 September 2009 Active
INS Cheriyam T72 2060 GRSE Karwar 16 July 2008 10 September 2009 Active[8]
INS Cankarso T73 2061 GRSE Goa 27 March 2009 29 June 2010 Active[9]
INS Kondul T74 2062 GRSE Goa 27 March 2009 29 June 2010 Active
INS Kalpeni T75 2063 GRSE Kochi 27 March 2009 14 October 2010 Active
INS Kabra T76 2064 GRSE Kochi 29 March 2010[10] 8 June 2011[11] Active
INS Koswari T77 2065 GRSE Port Blair 29 March 2010 12 July 2011[12] Active
INS Karuva T78 2066 GRSE Karwar 29 March 2010 25 Aug 2011 Active[13]
Fleet II : FOWJFAC[5]
INS Tarmugli T91 2109 GRSE 30 June 2015 December 2015 Launched[14]
INS Tillanchang T92 2110 GRSE 30 June 2015 December 2015 Launched
INS Tihayu T93 2111 GRSE 30 June 2015 February 2016 Launched
INS Tarasa 2112 GRSE March 2016 Under construction[15]

Operations

INS Car Nicobar and INS Chetlat are based in Chennai under India's Eastern Naval Command.[16]

INS Cankarso and INS Kondul are based in Goa under the Western Naval Command.[17]

INS Kalpeni is based in Kochi under the Southern Naval Command.[18]

Operation Island Watch

In January 2011, as a part of Operation Island Watch, INS Cankarso and INS Kalpeni were deployed on anti-piracy patrol to the west of the Lakshadweep archipelago.[17] On 28 January, Cankarso responded to a Mayday call from a container ship. Upon reaching the site, she saw Somali pirate skiffs being hoisted aboard a hijacked Thai fishing trawler, Prantalay 14, which was being used as a pirate mother ship.[4][19]

Cankarso ordered the pirated ship to stop for inspection. The pirates on board fired on Cankarso as they tried to flee west towards Somalia. Cankarso returned the fire, which hit some of the fuel drums stored on Prantalay 14's deck for refuelling the skiffs. The mother ship was set ablaze and sank, even as Kalpeni and an Indian Coast Guard patrol vessel, ICGS Sankalp, reached the site. 15 pirates were arrested, and the 20 crew of the fishing trawler were all rescued unharmed.[20]

In another operation on 13 March 2011, an Indian Navy patrol aircraft spotted the Mozambique-registered fishing vessel, Vega 5, when responding to a merchant ship reporting a pirate attack. Beira-based Vega 5, owned by Spanish company Pescamar Lda, had been captured on 27 December 2010 by pirates who were demanding USD 1.8 million in ransom.[21] INS Kalpeni intercepted the pirated ship about 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) off Kochi on India's west coast. A fire broke out on the vessel when Kalpeni returned fired after being fired upon by the pirates. 61 pirates were rescued and arrested after they jumped into the Arabian Sea to escape the fire. The crew of Kalpeni put out the fire on board Vega 5, rescued her 13 crew members and escorted her to Mumbai. Rocket-propelled grenades and over 80 assault rifles were recovered from the pirates.[22][23][24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Two warships commissioned into Indian Navy fleet". Daily News & Analysis. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Indian Navy to Commission INS Carnicobar, INS Chetlat". India Defence. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "GRSE delivers two warships from Rajabagan Dockyard". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Fast Attack Craft INS Kabra commissioned". The Hindu. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  5. 1 2 "GRSE launches three fast attack craft for Indian Navy | IHS Jane's 360". www.janes.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  6. ↑ "Commissioning of INS Carnicobar & INS Chetlat". Government of India. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Launching Ceremony of Kora Divh(Yard-2059) and Cheriyam (Yard-2060) on 16 Jul 2008 Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "Indian Navy inducts two fast attack crafts to boost surveillance". Daily India. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Launching Ceremony of Cankarso (Yard 2061), Kondul (Yard 2062), Kalpeni (Yard 2063) on 27 Mar 09 Archived 19 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/20110719195113/http://www.grse.nic.in/Launching.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ "Indian Naval ship Kabra commissioning on Jun 8". IBNLive.in.com. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Indian Navy commissions Fast attack craft INS Koswari
  13. ↑ "Fast attack warship INS Karuva commissioned". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Navy to get 4 Water Jet Fast Attack Craft in 2015-16". Business standard. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  15. ↑ GRSE launches three fast attack craft for Indian Navy
  16. ↑ "Indigenously designed Fast Attack Crafts commissioned". The Hindu. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Naval ship that helped catch Somali pirates returns to Goa". oneindia news. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  18. ↑ Handing over of WJFAC, Yd No. 2063 (Kalpeni) – 25 Aug 10 Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ↑ "India pushes back on Somali pirates' new 'mother ship' offensive". CSMonitor.com. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "Pirate Mother Ship Prantalay Sinks off Lakshadweep during Anti Piracy Operations by India". MarineBuzz.com. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "Mozambique: Pirates Demand Ransom, Say 'Vega 5' Relatives". allAfrica.com. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "Indian Navy captures 61 pirates, rescues 13 sailors". DNA India. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  23. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20110628220925/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42066300. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ↑ "Indian navy captures 61 pirates". The Daily Breeze News. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2014.

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