Navy likely to set up base in Vizhinjam ICTT

Once the ambitious Vizhinjam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) is commissioned, the Indian Navy is likely to have fast-attack craft and interceptor vessels stationed here to enable quick reaction to emergencies in the Indian Ocean Region.

Once the ambitious Vizhinjam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) is commissioned, the Indian Navy is likely to have fast-attack craft and interceptor vessels stationed here to enable quick reaction to emergencies in the Indian Ocean Region. Navy officials gave sufficient hints to this at a public hearing on the ICTT project here on Saturday. The Navy considers the proposed ICTT very essential in terms of strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean Region, coastal security and international diplomacy, Navy officials told the hearing. Space in the ICTT will enable quick reaction by the Navy during emergencies, using fast-attack craft and interceptor vessels, Capt Gopakumar, who represented the Navy in the hearing, said. Approximately two lakh ships pass annually through the Middle East-Far East and the International Suez Canal-Far East shipping routes between 10 and 30 nautical miles off Vizhinjam. This fact, coupled with factors such as piracy off the African coast, vulnerability of Indian territories such as the Lakshadweep Islands and coastal security in general, add to Vizhinjam’s strategic importance, he said. Post-Mumbai terror attacks, coastal security too has assumed greater significance, so has the issue of the safety of Indian fishermen after the Enrica Lexie firing. But military significance aside, Vizhinjam is also important for the Indian Navy’s diplomatic efforts with the island nations in the Indian Ocean such as Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Capt Gopakumar said. Both the Navy and the Coast Guard had sought berth space in the port, to which the government agreed on the condition that the defence agencies share the coast. The Navy had sought 500 metres, while the Coast Guard has requested 120 metres. The Navy has also asked for 25 acres of land near the port. It has agreed to a Rs 498-crore estimate. As per the master plan, Navy and Coast Guard vessels are to be given space on the northern portion of the main breakwater.