Article Posted on : - Mar 25, 2015

The three new ISVs before their commissioning. A Navy photo

VISAKHAPATNAM (PTI): Three Immediate Support Vessels (ISVs), armed with heavy machine guns and capable of enabling quick insertion and extraction of naval commandos in case of a threat to country's offshore assets, were on Tuesday commissioned by the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.

These ships are to enhance the Navy's capability in furthering its mandate of maritime safety and security over the Offshore Developmental Areas on the Eastern seaboard.

The induction and deployment of these ships will augment the ongoing efforts to bolster coastal security and provide protection to our offshore assets from asymmetric threats, the Navy said.

The three ISVs are in addition to the first batch of ISVs commissioned last year on June 4 and will constitute the 84th Immediate Support Vessel Squadron based in Visakhapatnam.

Two ISVs have been built by Rodman Spain whereas one ISV has been built by the Abu Dhabi Ship Builders (ADSB).

The project was a joint collaboration between the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited, Ship Builders and the Indian Navy.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Vice Admiral Satish Soni said, these ISVs were brought to Naval Dockyard in Mumbai where Delivery Acceptance Trials were carried out.

These ships have sailed 1,200 nautical miles from Mumbai to Visakhapatnam over a duration of 12 days before getting commissioned at the Eastern Naval Command, he said addressing a gathering.

The ISVs are armed with Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) and are fitted with state-of-the-art radar and navigation equipment.

They are fitted with two caterpillar engines of 1600-MHP each to provide water jet propulsion which provides the vessels a high speed of 40 knots and an endurance of 500 nautical miles.

The ships are capable of carrying out day and night surveillance and can be used for rapid insertions or extraction of MARCOS (special operations unit of the Indian Navy) for military intervention.