The Indian Naval Ship (INS) ‘Sukanya’ arrived at the Port of Colombo, on an official visit, yesterday morning (27). The visiting ship was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy, in compliance with naval traditions.

INS ‘Sukanya’ in a 101m long Offshore Patrol Vessel, manned by 106 crew members.

The Commanding Officer of the ship, Commander Pranav Anand called on the Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Suresh De Silva, at the Western Naval Command Headquarters, this morning.

Further, a group of children of the Diyakithulkanda Primary School, in Galle, will visit the ship and arrangements are in place to hand over school supplies, donated by the Indian Navy, to those children as well.

During the stay in the country, the crew of the ship will take part in several programmes, organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, to promote cooperation between the two navies, and visit some of the tourist attractions.

 Concluding her official visit, ‘INS Sukanya’ will depart the island on March 1 and she is expected to engage in a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with a ship of the Sri Lanka Navy off Colombo.

The Sukanya Class offshore patrol vessels are in service with the Indian Navy. The first three ships were built by Korea Tacoma, while four were constructed at the Hindustan Shipyard in India.

The lead ship in class, INS Sukanya (P50), was commissioned in August 1989. INS Subhadra (P51) was launched in 1989 and commissioned in January 1990.

INS Suvarna (P52) was launched in August 1990 and commissioned in April 1991. All three ships were commissioned at Masan, South Korea, and sailed to India for the armament fit out.

The keel of INS Savitri (P53) was laid in June 1988. The ship was launched in May 1989 and commissioned in November 1990. INS Sarayu (P54) was laid in June 1988, launched in October 1989 and commissioned into the Indian Navy in October 1991.

The ship was sold to the Sri Lankan Navy and commissioned as SLNS Sayura in 2000. Sayura was refitted with new weapon systems prior to its delivery. The ship now serves as the flagship of the Sri Lanka Navy.

Sukanya Class offshore patrol vessels are principally used to conduct offshore patrol duties in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India. INS Sharada took part in Operation Sagittarius, covering 20,000nm in 2002.