India, 31st May 2018; Government of Kerala has signed an agreement with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for construction of three(3) Marine ambulance boat for Fisheries Department. The agreement was signed by Shri N V Suresh Babu, Director (Operations) on behalf of CSL and Shri S Venkatesapathy IAS, Director, Department of Fisheries, at the Durbar Hall, State Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram, on 31 May 2018, in the presence of Smt. J Mercykutty Amma, Hon’ble Minister of Fisheries, and Shri Kadakampally Surendran, Hon’ble Minister of Co-operation, Tourism, Govt. of Kerala.
These vessels will have an approximate length of 22.5 metres, beam size of about 5.99 metres and will have a maximum speed of 14 knots. The vessel will be highly fuel efficient with most modern design, designed by CSL in-house Design Department. Designing of these boats had posed challenges to the yard, as these are extremely weight sensitive vessels. The boat will be built as per the IRS Standard, with a special feature of 2 side aft deck foldable platforms for ease of pulling the patients from water to the deck.
The vessel will be able to complement 2 patients and will have a total crew capacity of 7, including the paramedical staff. The vessel will also have various paramedical facilities like examination and nursing room, medical beds, mortuary freezer, refrigerator and medical lockers. Marine ambulances will be used for the rescue and instant treatment to the marine fishermen in distress. On delivery of these vessels, it will fulfil the longstanding need for the sophisticated sea worthy rescue ambulance for the rescue operations. The requirement of Marine ambulance was actually felt during the recent Ockhi rescue operations. These ambulances would be extremely helpful in saving lives during disaster like Ockhi.
CSL presently has a robust order book in Shipbuilding and Shiprepair. CSL posted a turnover of Rs 2,355 crores for the financial year 2017-18 as compared to Rs 2059 crores for the financial year 2016-17. The Company posted a profit after tax of Rs 397 crores as compared to Rs 322 crores for the previous year. The Shipbuilding turnover for the financial year 2017-18 was Rs 1732 crores as compared to Rs 1516 crores for the previous year. The Shiprepair turnover for the year 2017-18 was Rs 623 crores as compared to Rs 543 crores for the previous year. The Company is presently constructing 4 passenger vessels for Andaman and Nicobar Administration. CSL is also constructing the prestigious Indigenous Aircraft Carrier for the Indian Navy and Technology Demonstration vessel for the Government of India.