Kochi: Indian Coast Guard ship Samar decommissioned

KOCHI: Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Ship Samar was decommissioned on Saturday with full honours in a traditional armed forces ceremony held at Coast Guard Jetty here.

The ship, which was commissioned on February 14, 1996 at Goa by the then Prime Minister P V Narashimha Rao, was based at Mumbai under the operational command of Commander Coast Guard Region (West). Further, the ship was rebased at Kochi in 2009.

Built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Ltd, the name Samar means “Battle”.

The navy said the ship boasts the unique distinction of being the first in numerous aspects, the foremost

being - indigenously constructed vessel of the Indian Coast Guard with a gross displacement of more than 1,800 gross tonnage.

“Samar is 102 meters long and propelled by 6,200 KW twin diesel engines to a maximum speed of 21 knots. During the illustrious lifespan, the ship remained underway for

around 54,000 hours at sea, covering more than 5,68,700 miles,” the ICG said in

a release.

During the ceremony, an impressive guard was paraded and at sunset, the Coast Guard Ensign was hauled down onboard the ship for the last time.

“Soon after, ‘Paying off Pennant’ which is equal to the length of the ship was lowered, as a symbolic representation of decommissioning,”

the ICG said.ICGS Samar was the first of its series, which

was earlier known as Advanced Offshore Patrol

Vessel (AOPV).

“The previous Commanding Officers along with a number of officers and sailors who had served on board were present at the venue

to bid a befitting farewell

to the ship. As a culmination, the Commanding Officer of the ship, DIG R Ramesh, made

the final decommissioning report to Additional

Director General, S

Paramesh.

Paramesh, while addressing the gathering, highlighted the contributions made by the vessel in anti-poaching, anti-smuggling, search and rescue, MEDEVAC and joint

operations and commended the ship and all her crew

for the “Yeoman service they have put in for last almost three decades” for the nation and the maritime world.