New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's indigenously developed and upgraded water jet fast attack craft — INS Tarasa has been formally commissioned into the Indian Navy. The commissioning ceremony was held at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai on Tuesday. It is the fourth such ship to be inducted into the Indian Navy in the last one year.
INS Tarasa is an upgrade of the Car Nicobar class fast attack of the Indian Navy, which was indigenously designed and built by GRSE, Kolkata. The production of the Car Nicobar-class vessels was sped-up following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
The 320-tonne vessel is powered by three MTU 4000 series engines and propelled by three Hamilton water jets. "INS Tarasa is 50 meters long and powered by three waterjets which give it speeds of over 35 knots. The ship is armed with a 30 mm main gun indigenously built, and a number of light, medium and heavy machine guns to undertake coastal defense operations," the Indian Navy said in a statement.
The ship is an ideal platform for missions like coastal and off-shore surveillance, EEZ Patrol, law enforcement as well as non-military missions such as search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
"The passage of the ship during her maiden voyage from Kolkata to Mumbai, in rough weather, bears testimony to the seaworthiness of the ship," Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, flag officer commanding-in-chief of Western Naval Command said at the commissioning.
Presently, approximately 40 ships and vessels including submarines are being constructed at different shipyards owned by the Indian government. After slow progress in shipbuilding in first fifteen years of this century, the construction process remains on track and there has been a steady flow of warship to add to the naval fleet. The Indian Navy needs around 200 warships for countering China in the Indian Ocean Region. Chinese shipyards have reportedly constructed 83 ships in the last eight years. With the current rate of production, the Chinese naval fleet is expected to outnumber that of the US by 2050.
