Commissioning of Indian Coast Guard Ship H-188
Indian Coast Guard Ship H-188, the second in the series of twelve Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) designed and built by M/s Griffon Hoverworks Limited (GHL), UK was commissioned by Deputy Director General of Coast Guard, Inspector General Rajendra Singh at Haldia in West Bengal today.
The 21 metres long Air Cushion Vehicle with 31 tonnes displacement can achieve a maximum speed of 45 knots. The ACV is capable of undertaking multifarious tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and rendering assistance to small boats/craft in distress at sea.
With the commissioning of H-188, the force level of ICG has gone up to 77 ships & boats and with the planned inductions the force level would be doubling by 2018.
The Air Cushion Vehicle H-188 will be based at Haldia under the Administrative and Operational Control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (North-East).
The hovercraft is commanded by Commandant D Dinakaran. The hovercraft has a crew of 02 Officers and 11 Enrolled Personnel.
The commissioning ceremony was witnessed by Inspector General KC Pandey, Commander Coast Guard Region (North-East) and other dignitaries from the Central and State Governments.
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