No place to berth new boats in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: Coast Guard is expected to receive two interceptor boats to be stationed at Vizag but is facing space crunch to berth them. Coast Guard had asked Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) for a berth to temporarily station the new vessels before the coast guard jetty is extended by another 200 meters which will take at least two years. A new coast guard ship will also be deployed at Krishnapatnam port.

“The present coast guard jetty need to be extended to make it 400 meters. The two interceptor boats are expected to reach Vizag in two or three months. With the given increased economic activity and offshore assets, we need to create the necessary infrastructure for our assets. Since the extension of the existing jetty takes place, meanwhile we have requested the authorities of Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) to allot a berth for us to station these two new interceptor boats that were sanctioned for Andhra Pradesh station. Delay in securing a berth may hamper the chances of Andhra getting these two new boats for coastal surveillance,” said, Andhra Pradesh coast guard commander, DIG, Anil Kumar Harbola.

A new ship Ayush will join the Indian Coast Guard fleet at Krishnapatnam port which already has one ship. The senior Indian Coast Guard officer also said that they have conducted at least 100 community outreach programmes in the last one year to bring in fishermen into the coastal surveillance and security system. He added that the boat race that was held for fishermen by the Indian Coast Guard a few days ago will be an annual programme from the next year onwards.

“The boat race received a very good response. We want to conduct it every year from now on. Fishermen are our ears and eyes on coastal security and surveillance. There is a need to bring them into our system,” he said.