May 6 (The Hindu): The south Goa-based defence shipyard, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), on Thursday launched Shourya , the fifth of a series of six Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), designed in-house and being built by GSL, for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).

This 105-metre new generation OPV was launched by the Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha, in the presence of GSl and ICG officials.

Inspector General GSK Goyal, DDG (M&M), ICG, while complementing GSL for its timely deliveries, said that the launch of the fifth vessel would be another milestone towards their goal of having adequate number of such ships in the ICG inventory.

Shekhar Mital, Chairman and Managing Director of GSL, has been successful in significantly reducing the building period of OPVs to three years due to ingenious innovations, hard work and team spirit of employees.

This new generation OPV is powered by twin diesel engines and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. The vessel carries four boats for boarding party operations. One 30 mm gun and two 12.7 mm guns associated with fire control system form the main weaponry package.