"Indian Navy Repels 3 Somali Pirate Hijackings" –USNI

Chuck Hill

January 31

INS Sumitra during her trials, 27 August 2014, Indian Navy photo.

The US Naval Institute News Service reports.

The Indian Navy thwarted three hijackings by Somalian pirates in a two-day period from Sunday to Monday, with one warship rescuing separately two hijacked ships off the east coast of Somalia, while a second ship participated in a multinational operation with Sri Lanka and the Seychelles to rescue a hijacked ship, according to releases by the service.

So, what was this hero warship? -- An Indian Navy counterpart of a USCG medium endurance cutter, like a WMEC 270 but a little larger, faster. and a lot newer.

INS Sumitra (P-60) is one of six Saryu class offshore patrol vessel, four for the Indian Navy and two for the Sri Lanka Navy.

(It is not the Indian Navy OPV pictured in the X report included in the USNI report. That is INS Sharda (P-55) commissioned in 1991, which participated in the third rescue. Also much like a WMEC270, only slightly larger, faster, and newer.)

Ships of the Saryu class displace 2,230 tons full load, are 344' (105 m) in length, with a beam of 42' (12.9 m), a draft of 16' (4.9 m). They have two engines producing 21,428 HP (15,979 kW) (1,908 HP more than the OPC) for a speed of 25 knots. They have an endurance of 6,000 nmi at 16 knots, with a crew of 118. They are armed with a 76mm gun and two 30mm guns.

We seem to be seeing a reemergence of Somali pirates. When Somali piracy was at its height, the US Navy was using Burke class destroyers, about four times larger, to do the same sort of thing INS Sumitra did. Even the National Security Cutters and OPCs are twice as large.

I suspect that the new Fleet Mix Study, which has not been made public (why?) would show that the Coast Guard needs more patrol cutters with aviation facilities and more endurance than the FRCs. Currently, we have 38 large patrol cutters, 1000 tons and larger. The program of record will leave the Coast Guard with 36, all 4,500 tons or larger.

This is, I believe, the smallest number of large patrol cutters the Coast Guard has had since at least 1948. Yes, we might build more than 25 OPCs, but we might do well to trade off some of the out year OPC construction for more numerous smaller vessels about the size of INS Sumitra. It would be especially useful if we could start getting them ASAP, at least before 2038 when the last OPC is due. We might be able to build one OPC and two MECs annually for about the same cost as two OPCs. Of course, total operating costs would probably be higher.