Navy resurrects crippled Mauritian warship

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, APRIL 20. The Indian Navy has virtually recommissioned a crippled Mauritian warship, MCGS Vigilant of 1400 tonnes and made her fully operational, repairing in record time her propulsion system, a task even the vessel's Chilean builders could not do.

MCGS Vigilant, the only warship of Mauritius had developed a serious problem on its port shaft in May 1997, a year after commissioning. The ship builders, Asmar Shipyard of Talcahuano in Chile could not even diagnose the problem and the ship meant for patrolling Exclusive Economic Zone of the island nation remained non-operational since then.

After the Government of India offered free help, two officers of the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai visited the ship and established the feasibility of the repair. Soon an advanced offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard, CGS Samar brought it under tow to Mumbai in December last.

``We found here that her starboard shaft was also weak and several other systems onboard sub-standard but we completed the double task in the same time frame of four months though we did not have any documents for deep repair,'' said Rear Admiral P. Jaitly, Admiral Superintendent of Naval Dockyard, the premier repair facility of the Indian Navy.

The MCGS Vigilant was put to sea trial on April 11 last after extensive repairs and replacement of certain components. The vessel could achieve the speed of 18 knots against the `designed' top-speed of 20 knots and now it is ready to steam home using own power, Commander N. Singh, shafting specialist of the Naval Dockyard, said.

The Mauritian National Coast Guard is a small and very young force of just 850 sailors and as per their system, works under the country's police commissioner, the highest officer in uniform, said Commander J.S. Beniwal, the commanding officer of the MCGS Vigilant. He is an Indian naval officer on deputation to Mauritius.

But the task before the tiny coast guard are herculean. It is supposed to be policing the vast 1.8 million sq. km of the exclusive economic zone, providing search and rescue and performing coastal security. India had gifted in 1974 its INS Amar to Mauritius which commissioned it as MNS Amar and then changed it to CGS Amar.

``She was decommissioned a decade later but parts of her are still preserved and the country has great respect for her first flagship,'' Superintendents Prakash and Ram Sharan, officers of MCGS Vigilant, said.

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