The last ship in the series of four Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts (WJFAC) being built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) for the Indian Navy was launched. Christened INS Tarasa, after an island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, the ship was launched by Aruna Korde, wife of Vice Admiral Jaywant Korde, the navy’s Controller of Logistics.

An improved variant of the Car Nicobar-class high-speed offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), INS Tarasa will be fitted out at the GRSE’s Raja Bagan Dockyard and handed over to the navy after sea trials. With a 315 tonne displacement, the ship is designed for a maximum speed of 35 knots, with an endurance of nearly 2,000 nautical miles at 12-14 knots.

Powered by the latest 4,000-series MTU engines with advanced machinery control system, the ship will be fitted with CRN-91 indigenous 30mm gun with optronic pedestal and will have the latest communication equipment and radars to enable effective surveillance.

The WJFACs are ideally suited for interception of fast-moving surface craft and will perform anti-smuggling, fishery protection and search and rescue operations. The Tarasa is the last of the “follow-on” series of the 10 Car Nicobar-class patrol vessels delivered by the GRSE to the navy.