Marine pollution control Indian ship joins UAE Coast Guard for training

Dubai - The vessel will be undertaking joint training manoeuvres with the UAE Maritime Agencies during its three-day visit.

A special marine pollution control Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS), Samudra Paheredar, has arrived in the UAE on a good-will visit and to undertake joint exercises with the UAE Coast Guard. It will be berthed at Mina Rashid in Dubai until February 4.
The third visit of its kind, the ICGS arrival aims to enhance interactions and cooperation between the Indian Coast Guard and the UAE Maritime Agencies, said Pavan Kapoor, Indian Ambassador to the UAE.
"We are pushing forward in terms of bilateral relations with the UAE in a variety of spheres. Defence is certainly one of them," said the ambassador.
"We are hopeful that next month we will have another exchange in Indian waters. Both navies (the UAE and India) have done several tabletop activities and are exploring different partnership opportunities."
Handling oil spills
The ship is commanded by deputy inspector-general Anwar Khan, who said ICGS Samudra Paheredar is the second pollution-control vessel in the Indian Coast Guard's fleet.
"For countries where oil production is a major area, any kind of incident that can lead to oil pollution is a cause of concern," Khan said.
The vessel will be undertaking joint training manoeuvres with the UAE Maritime Agencies during its three-day visit, which will include marine pollution response, maritime search, and rescue and maritime law enforcement.
Commenting on the capacities of the vessel, the officer said: "It was indigenously built by ABG Shipyard, Surat, and was commissioned in the year 2010."
The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art pollution response and control equipment, including containment equipment; recovery devices such as skimmers and side-sweeping arms; and storage devices, such as oil recovery operation tanks and inflatable barges. It can conduct unhindered oil-recovery operations, with a storage capacity of 502 kilo litres.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai