KOLKATA: Before long, you may get to spot naval boats mounted with heavy machine guns patrolling the
Hooghly. To counter threats from the sea, the
Navy will soon operate four fast interceptor crafts (FICs) from Kolkata.
The Navy is now looking for a suitable location where these boats can be berthed. As part of the security beef-up after the 26/11 Mumbai strike, the defence ministry ordered 80 FICs from
Solas Marine Lanka in 2011.
Of these, 33 were allocated to the Eastern Naval Command. Four of these are to come to Kolkata.
“We have already received instructions to deploy FICs in Kolkata. However, we don’t have a suitable location as yet. We are looking for a place where a wet basin can be created. This is a kind of dock with a lockgate. If there is any trouble below the surface with one of the FICs, the wet basin can be converted into a dry dock to carry out necessary repairs. Otherwise, we would have to lift the vessel by crane and transport it to a shipyard by road. These boats will be used to patrol the area and carry out checks on suspect vessels,” Commodore Suprobho K De, naval officer-in-charge (
NOIC),
West Bengal, said.
Till recently, the Navy operated two speed boats that they obtained on lease from a company in
Abu Dhabi. In October 2016, one of these was destroyed in a fire. Now, the remaining boat patrols the Hooghly regularly but it can’t cover sufficient ground.
“The Sunderbans is certainly a concern so far as security is concerned. The Navy had planned to monitor activities there through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). But we don’t have an airfield for the UAVs. They may not even serve the purpose due to the dense foliage. Rivers in the Sunderbans are connected to the Hooghly that flows through Kolkata. Though both India and
Bangladesh keep a lookout for the movement of terrorists in the Sunderbans, the terrain is harsh, providing sufficient cover to criminals, particularly if they have a local guide,” an officer said.
The FICs are effective in guarding mouths of harbours, chasing boats and intercepting them. They also have night vision equipment and a long-range acoustic device. The LRAD is a sonic weapon used to scare away pirates.