INS Mangrol, the third ASW-SWC constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, is due to enter Indian Navy service in a ceremony at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on 12 October. Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, head of the Western Naval Command, will preside. The ship is part of a 16-vessel indigenous shallow-water anti-submarine programme shared between Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and Cochin Shipyard Limited, each responsible for eight ships. With six vessels already commissioned, Mangrol will be the programme’s seventh ship to join the fleet. Its name comes from Mangrol, a coastal town and major fishing harbour in Gujarat’s Junagadh district, and honours the earlier INS Mangrol (M85), which served as a minesweeper until April 2004. The new craft contains more than 80% indigenous content and supports the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Built for anti-submarine missions in coastal and shallow waters, it is equipped with the indigenous Abhay hull-mounted sonar, lightweight torpedoes, an indigenous anti-submarine rocket launcher and the Mareech Advanced Torpedo Decoy System. Its three diesel engines power waterjet propulsion, allowing it to manoeuvre effectively in restricted and shallow waters. In addition to detecting and countering submarines, the ship can undertake underwater surveillance, low-intensity maritime operations and mine warfare-related duties. It can coordinate with maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters and other naval platforms to improve underwater awareness and anti-submarine operations. The vessel is expected to reinforce security around ports, harbours and coastal approaches, strengthen the Navy’s littoral warfare capability in the Indian Ocean region and help replace ageing anti-submarine platforms. In a separate development, the Indian Coast Guard commissioned ICGS Ajit, an indigenous Fast Patrol Vessel, at Goa Shipyard Limited. The event was presided over by Sirish Choudhary, IDAS, Principal Integrated Financial Adviser of the Coast Guard. The vessel will operate from Okha and features advanced weapons and modern control systems. Its intended roles include maritime surveillance, search and rescue, anti-smuggling operations and pollution response.
