The Indian government has announced it will build two warships for Sri Lanka.
Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh said last Saturday, Sri Lanka had placed an order for the ships.
"From Sri Lanka, we have received an order to build two off-shore patrol vehicles (OPV) and they are under construction in the Goa Shipyard," the minister said on at an event, marking the delivery of warship CGS Barracuda to the Mauritian Coast Guard.
"This is the first time the export barrier has been breached... This will be the first in the long line of ships that we hope to export from our country... I think the country can feel proud that the ship-building industry has come of age," the minister said.
According to The Island, the 83-crew capacity warship will be used by the Mauritian Coast Guard for anti-piracy and anti-poaching operations, but is also capable of search and rescue missions, transportation of small detachment of troops and helicopter operations and can handle external fire-fights.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
