Indian Coast Guard ship Sankalp to visit Oman

Muscat: Indian Coast Guard ship Sankalp is scheduled to visit Oman from February 9 to 13. ICGS Sankalp will be on a goodwill visit to Muscat, in a step to further emphasise the existing cooperation in defence and security between India and Oman.
The visit also aims at improving cooperation with the Royal Oman Coast Guard. The ship is on a four- nation overseas deployment tour in the GCC, with Muscat being the final port, prior to her return to India. The Sankalp, the 5th Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Indian Coast Guard, was designed and built by India’s Goa Shipyard Limited and commissioned on May 20, 2008.
‘Sankalp’, meaning Determination, is symbolic of the Indian Coast Guard’s will and motivation to strive for excellence.
The Sankalp has 16 officers and 97 personnel on board, under the Command of Deputy Inspector General Mukul Garg.
The ship is based in Mumbai, under the administrative and operational command of Coast Guard Regional Commander (West), Mumbai.
The 105m long Sankalp, equipped with state of the art navigational and communication sensors, is capable of deploying Advanced Light Helicopters and Chetak helicopters.
Operating at normal speeds, she has an endurance of 6,500 nautical miles and can remain at sea for 25 days without refuelling, thus sailing up to her motto – ‘Extending the Horizon’.
The Sankalp has been extensively deployed on the western seaboard from Gujarat to the Kerala coast, the International Maritime Boundary Line patrol, and surveillance off the Lakshadweep and Minicoy group of Islands.
The ship has also visited many foreign ports on goodwill visits during overseas deployments, which include a maiden voyage by a Coast Guard vessel to Australia. The visit of ICGS Sankalp to Oman is the third visit by an Indian Coast Guard Ship to Oman in the last three years. Including the ICGS Samudra Prahari and ICGS Vijit, which visited Muscat port in Mar 2013 and Jan 2015, respectively.