Samar-class offshore patrol vessel

The Samar class of offshore patrol vessels are a series of five ships built by Goa Shipyard Limited, Vasco da Gama, Goa for the Indian Coast Guard.^[3]

Samar patrolling at sea
Class overview
Name	Samar class
Builders	Goa Shipyard Limited
Operators	Indian Coast Guard
Preceded by	Vikram class
Succeeded by	Sankalp class
Planned	4
Completed	4
Active	2
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Offshore patrol vessel
Displacement	1,800 t (1,800 long tons)[1]
Length	102 m (334 ft 8 in)[1]
Beam	11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)[1]
Draught	3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)[1]
Propulsion	2 x SEMT Pielstick 16 PA6V280 (4,707 kW or 6,312 hp each) diesel engines[1]
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)[1]
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)[1]
Boats & landing craft carried	5 boats
Complement	15 officers and 113 sailors[1]
Sensors & processing systems	Decca 2459 F/I-band surface search radar BEL 1245 I-band navigation radar BEL/Radamec optronic 2400 director[2]
Armament	1 x 76 mm OTO Melara dual-purpose gun with EOFCS 2 x 12.7 mm HMG[1]
Aircraft carried	1 x Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter OR 1 x HAL Chetak[1]

Design and description

The construction of vessels was ordered in April 1990 and these ships are half-sisters to seven Sukanya-class patrol vessel units in the Indian Navy. A total of twelve were originally planned and then cut to six. The vessels are intended for offshore patrol duties for the protection of oil platforms and the Indian exclusive economic zone.

The vessels in this class are 102 meters (334 ft 8 in) long with a beam of 11.6 meters (38 ft 1 in). They are powered by two Kirloskar-SEMT-Pielstick diesel engines (8,000 hp, 6,000 kW) driving two propellers and have a range 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The Samar-class ships feature an Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS), high power External Fire Fighting System, two Indian-built 30 mm gun mounts and one 76 mm OTO Melara dual-purpose gun. Besides, the ships are provided with a BEL-made onboard day/night infrared surveillance system to detect elusive targets which can evade radar detection due to their small radar cross-section (RCS) or higher sea state.^[4]

Capability

Each ship carries a single Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), with dedicated hangar and flight deck, and five high speed boats. The vessels also have towing capacity for salvage and Inmarsat satellite communications. They have accommodation for a crew of 12 officers and 112 enlisted sailors. Additional accommodation has also been provided for passengers.^[3]

Operational history

On 25 August 2024, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 11 crew members from a sinking merchant vessel MV ITT Puma. The ship was travelling from Kolkata to Port Blair when it sank 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) south of Sagar Island due to adverse weather and sea environment. The search and rescue operation was conducted in coordination by ICGS Amogh (an Aadesh-class patrol vessel), ICGS Sarang and an ICG Dornier 228 aircraft.^[5][6]

List of ships

Ships of the class

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Homeport
ICGS Samar	42	Goa Shipyard	1990	26 August 1992	14 February 1996[2]	5 November 2023[7]	Kochi[8]
ICGS Sangram	43		1992	18 March 1995	29 March 1997[2]	8 November 2023[9][10]	Goa
ICGS Sarang	44		1993	8 March 1997	21 June 1999[2]		Chennai[11]
ICGS Sagar	45		1999	14 December 2001	3 November 2003[2]		Chennai[12]

Gallery

• 
  ICGS Sarang during fire dousing operation.

See also

• Jija Bai-class patrol vessel
• Tara Bai-class patrol vessel
• Priyadarshini-class patrol vessel
• Sarojini Naidu-class patrol vessel