The Indian Coast Guard operates a large and steadily expanding fleet of ships, boats and aircraft to patrol India's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. The service's inventory has grown from a handful of vessels transferred from the Navy at its founding in 1978 to a force of well over a hundred ships and dozens of aircraft, the majority now built in Indian shipyards.

Key facts

  • Fleet organised into four broad classes: offshore patrol vessels, fast patrol vessels, interceptor boats and pollution-control/multipurpose vessels
  • Air arm operates Dornier Do-228 maritime surveillance aircraft and ALH Dhruv and Chetak helicopters
  • Most new ships are built indigenously, chiefly at Goa Shipyard Limited and other Indian yards
  • Samarth-class and Vikram-class vessels form the backbone of the offshore patrol fleet
  • Newer fast patrol vessels such as ICGS Akshay and ICGS Achal continue to be commissioned as older craft are replaced

Offshore and fast patrol vessels

Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) are the largest ships in Coast Guard service, designed for long-range, deep-sea patrol of the exclusive economic zone with a helicopter deck and hangar for embarked aircraft. The Samarth class, built by Goa Shipyard Limited, and the older Vikram class form the mainstay of this category, supplemented by the Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel programme intended to replace ageing hulls. Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) are smaller, faster ships used for coastal patrol, fisheries protection, anti-smuggling operations and search-and-rescue closer to shore; recent additions to this class, delivered by yards such as Goa Shipyard Limited, include vessels named after Indian rivers and geographic features. Interceptor boats and inshore patrol vessels are smaller, high-speed craft used for harbour defence and near-shore interdiction, forming the fastest-reacting layer of the fleet.

Air assets

The Coast Guard's air arm is built around the Dornier Do-228, a twin-engine maritime surveillance aircraft used for long-range reconnaissance, fishery protection and pollution monitoring over the exclusive economic zone. Helicopters, including the indigenously built ALH Dhruv and the older Chetak, operate from Coast Guard ships and shore stations to provide close-in surveillance, casualty evacuation and search-and-rescue support. Air squadrons and enclaves are distributed across the five Coast Guard regions, allowing rapid response along the length of the coastline as well as around the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep island groups.

Indigenous shipbuilding

A defining feature of Coast Guard fleet expansion over the past two decades has been the shift toward indigenous construction. Goa Shipyard Limited has built the bulk of the OPV and FPV classes now in service, while other Indian public and private yards have contributed interceptor boats and support craft. This indigenisation drive supports the government's broader self-reliance policy in defence production and has allowed the Coast Guard to expand its fleet more quickly and with greater control over specifications than reliance on imported vessels would permit. Commissioning ceremonies for new ships are held regularly as production continues, with vessels typically named after Indian rivers, mountains or Sanskrit virtues in keeping with Coast Guard naming conventions.

Modernisation priorities

Current modernisation efforts are focused on replacing ageing Vikram-class and early interceptor-boat hulls, expanding the Next Generation OPV programme, and inducting additional Dornier aircraft and ALH helicopters to improve maritime domain awareness. The Coast Guard has also worked to integrate its ships and aircraft more closely with the Navy's coastal radar chain and the national maritime domain awareness network, so that vessels at sea can respond quickly to information generated ashore.