The interceptor vessel at Paradip Port. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Sept. 19: The coast guard today commissioned a C-426 interceptor ship to make sea patrolling more efficient along the coast here.

A similar interceptor vessel was pressed into service here in April last year, while coast guard ship Vajra has also been permanently stationed here to intensify vigil along the Odisha and Bengal coasts.

“The C-426 interceptor ship is 30-metre long. It has a displacement capacity of 90 tonnes. It is a high-speed vessel with a maximum speed of 45 nautical miles per hour. The vessel is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment and medium-range armament. The boat is very suitable for high-speed interception, close-coast patrol, low-intensity maritime operations and search-and-rescue operations,” coast guard commander of northeast zone Khajan Chandra Pandey told The Telegraph.

The vessel will patrol the coast from Paradip to Dhamra and protect crude oil tankers in the sea. Pandey also said that in the near future, the Paradip coast guard station would be equipped with more interceptor vessels.

All coast guard stations in the state are poised for a facelift for better maritime surveillance.

Activation of the air enclave (aircraft station) in Bhubaneswar and commissioning of a station at Gopalpur are also part of the ongoing expansion and modernisation drive of the coast guard.