Article Posted on : - Dec 23, 2012

NEW DELHI (PTI): The indigenously designed new 105 metre-class warship, INS Saryu was on Friday handed over to the Indian Navy by the Goa Shipyards Limited (GSL).

INS Saryu would be the largest offshore patrol vessel to be operated by the force.

"The warship was handed over by GSL Chairman Rear Admiral (Retd) Vineet Bakhshi to Commander Amanpreet Singh-- the CO-designate of INS Saryu in a simple ceremony in Goa," the shipyard said in a release.

The Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) will help meet the increasing requirement of the Navy for undertaking ocean surveillance and surface warfare operations in order to prevent infiltration and transgression of maritime sovereignty, it said.

The warship was one of the vessels ordered by the Defence Ministry after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai in 2008.

This vessel is suitable for monitoring sea lines of communication, defence of offshore oil installations and other critical offshore national assets, the release said.

It can also be deployed for escorting high value ships and fleet-support operations, it said.

Designed and built by GSL, the warship is the culmination of many years of inhouse design development and ship build techniques.