Coast Guard begins in-house docking of ships at Chennai Port

Chennai, Mar 14 (PTI) The Coast Guard on Thursday began docking ships in-house for repairs as a slipway at the Chennai Port Authority here has been refurbished.

A Coast Guard Ship 'ICGS C-435' was formally docked at the slipway in the presence of Inspector General Coast Guard, Eastern Region Commander, Donny Michael, on the occasion.

A slipway is a ramp on the shore that helps move ships or boats to and from the water, so that repairs and maintenance can be carried out.

The Coast Guard has leased the facility from Chennai Port to dock its Fast Patrol Vessels and Interceptor Boats, which form the major chunk of its fleet.

"The slipway will give a boost to in-house repair facilities of the Coast Guard leading to faster turnaround of ships undergoing repairs at Chennai," an official release here said today.

The operationalisation of the slipway is also part of long term endeavour of the Coast Guard to create and operate indigenous infrastructure for repair of ships, thereby reducing dependence on other agencies.

The Coast Guard has an ambitious plan to augment the maintenance facilities with the operationalisation of the slipway, the release added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)