Port Blair, Jan. 8: Indian Coast Guard Ship Samar arrived Port Blair today 8th Jan. 2012. The Ship is enroute to overseas deployment to Bangkok (Thailand) and Jakarta (Indonesia). The ship is on operational International co-operation visit for interaction with Maritime Law enforcement agencies so as to develop bilateral and professional linkages.
ICGS Samar is the first Advanced Offshore Patrolling Vessel commissioned on 14 Feb 1996. ‘SAMAR’ meaning ‘War’ in Sanskrit was built by Goa Shipyard Limited and ship is generally deployed in western and southern coast of India to undertake various operational roles like SAR, Anti-Poaching, Anti-Smuggling including monitoring of exclusive economic zones of India. With an overall length of 102.45m & breadth of 11.50m the ship is capable of cruising up to speed of 21 Knots. Powered by two diesel driven engines the ship draws a mean draught of 3.5m and is equipped with 76/62 Super Rapid Gun Mounting (SRGM).
The Indian Coast Guard Ship Samar is based at Kochi, Kerala under the administrative and operational control of Commander District Headquarter no. 4. Ship is presently commanded by Deputy Inspector General Jaswinder Singh Sabharwal, who joined the Indian Coast Guard on 17 January 1986. The officer is a post graduate in Economics and has a vast experience of key command and staff appointments including the last appointment of Chief Staff Officer (Personnel & Administration) at Headquarters, Coast Guard Region (East). The officer is a qualified Air Cushion Vessels (ACV) operator.