Navy commissions fast attack warship

PORT BLAIR: Fast attack indigenous warship 'Batti Malv' was commissioned by the Commander-in-Chief of Andaman and Nicobar unfied command Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh on Monday.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice Admiral said 'Batti Malv' was an "extremely valuable asset" in the discharge of the role of the unified command structure for maintaining the safety, security and well being of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

"The fact that we are able today to commission a state-of-the-art warship like 'Batti Malv' with indigenous construction, power generation package, weapons and sensors bear eloquent testimony to our nation's technological prowess and the skill of its workforce," he said.

The Rs 64 crore warship is named after one of the islands in the archipelago and took 26 months to be constructed.

It was the third of the series of Bangaram-class high speed warships and with its 46 metre height was a cost effective platform for patrol and rescue operations at sea with combat capabilities with matching fire power, Rear Admiral (retd) T S Ganeshan, chairman and managing director of Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE) Shipyard Ltd, Kolkata, which constructed it, said.

Its twin engine can achieve a speed of 28 knots, he said.