India had gifted the ship to the Maldives to cooperate further for the maritime safety of the Indian Ocean Region

In another sign of the importance the country attaches to its maritime neighbours, India has refited a ship it had gifted to the Maldives in 2006 and handed it over to the Maldivian Coast Guard after extensive harbour and sea trials.

The ship, MNDF CGS Huravee, has received a major boost to its endurance and capability through renewal of its power generation equipment.

The Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam also undertook major refurbishment and replacement of the vessel's main propulsion and auxiliary equipment, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement today.

The ship was handed over by Rear Admiral Sreekumar Nair, Admiral Superintendent, to the Commanding Officer Major Hussain Rasheed at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Defence Advisor of Maldives to India Colonel Ahmed Thohir, who attended the ceremony, conveyed his government's gratitude on the excellent refit work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ship had arrived in Visakhapatnam for its refit on February 22 and work was taken up with careful planning with adequate safety in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the propulsion and auxiliary equipment, and the ship’s power generation system, several other systems and equipment were also overhauled for better performance.

According to the statement, the MNDF CGS Huravee (originally INS Tillanchang) is an indigenously built Trinkat class patrol vessel. It was constructed at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata in 2001. India gifted it to the Maldives in 2006 to strengthen the partnership between the two nations and to cooperate further for the maritime safety of the Indian Ocean Region.

India has been actively assisting the Maldives in protecting its maritime borders.

In December 2019, it had gifted another ship, Kaamiyab, to the Maldivian Coast Guard. Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid had shared the news on Twitter and said, "Bolstering #Maldives-#India defence ties! Coast Guard Ship #Kaamiyaab, gifted today by #India, will be a valuable asset, bolstering Maldivian coast Guard's ability to protect our maritime borders!"