Sri Lanka Navy receives the largest AOPV from India
 

The Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) ceremoniously delivered the 1st Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV), constructed at the Indian ship building facility, to Sri Lanka Navy today (July, 22). The ceremony to handover the vessel was presided over by the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India, H. E. (Mrs.) Chitranganee Wagiswara. Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Navy, Rear Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe marked the official taking over of this state of the art ship, for the Sri Lanka Navy.

The contract for this AOPV was one of the major export contracts, being handed over to GSL by the Sri Lanka Navy in 2014. The Keel of the first vessel was laid on 10th Sep 2014 and was ceremonially launched on 10th June 2016. Meanwhile, the official commissioning of the ship is scheduled to be held on 02nd August 2017 with the presence of H. E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, at the premises of Colombo harbour.

The new AOPV is intended to conduct patrols, policing, reconnaissance, surveillance, search and rescue, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and pollution control missions in Sri Lanka's maritime zones. Moreover, it can also be used for external fire-fighting missions.

The 105.7m long, 13.6m wide ship also features maximum speed of 24 knots and displacement of 2,350 tons. Apart from that, the vessel will be manned by 18 officers and will accommodate up to 100 sailors. Befittingly, the AOPV could bear the endurance of 4,500 nm while operating cruising speed (12-14 knots) and is provided with a landing and hangar facility for Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The state of the art vessel tailor made for the mission requirement of the Sri Lanka Navy, cost an estimated USD 66.55 million when it reached the completion stage of its construction.

This significant occasion was also attended by Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of GSL Rear Admiral (Retd.) Shekhar Mital, Ex- CMD GSL, Rear Admiral (Retd.) Vineet Bakhshi, Admiral (Retd.) Arun Prakash, senior officers from Sri Lankan Navy, Indian Navy, Coast Guard and officials of GSL.