The offshore patrol vessel that the country has been building for Mauritius was on Friday launched in the waters at the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), a public sector shipyard that has been executing the project.
Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office Senior Chief Executive K O Fong Weng-Pooran launched the ship, christened ‘CGS Barracuda’, in the presence of Mauritian High Commissioner Arye Kumar Juggessar. GRSE had laid the keel for CGS Barracuda on April 23, 2012.
Mauritius and India had signed the warship contract on March 4, 2011, marking a significant milestone in the Indo-Mauritian co-operation and friendship. This order also ushered in a new chapter in shipbuilding in the country, with the first-ever export order for a warship placed on an Indian shipyard.
GRSE was scheduled to deliver the warship to the Mauritius Coast Guard by September 2014, the shipyard’s chairman and managing director Rear Admiral (Rtd) A K Verma said during the launch function in Kolkata. The vessel has a length of 74.10 metre and a width of 11.40 metre. It would be capable of a maximum speed of 20 knots and would have an approximate displacement of 1,300 tonnes.