2:31 PM
India will be gifting a patrol vessel worth Rs.100 crore to Seychelles Coast Guard during the first high-level virtual meeting between India and Seychelles on Thursday. The meeting will be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly-elected Seychelles’s Indian-origin President Wavel Ramakalwan who came to power in October 2020.
The 48.9 m Fast Patrol Vessel which is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineering, will be utilized for multi-purpose operations such as anti-smuggling, patrolling, anti-poaching, and Search & Rescue (SAR). The Vessel was delivered to Seychelles on March 16 and the official handover of the same shall be done during the virtual meet on Thursday at 5 pm. This Patrol vessel will be the 4th ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles and is christened as PS Zoroaster. the other three are namely- PS Topaz(2005), PS Constant (2014), and Patrol Boat Hermes (2016)