 PSConstant just prior to her commissioning into the Seychelles Coast Guard | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 India | |
| Name | INSTarasa |
| Namesake | Tarasa Dwip |
| Builder | Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers |
| Commissioned | 24 August 2001 |
| Identification | T63 |
| Fate | Transferred to Seychelles Coast Guard on 7 November 2014 |
 Seychelles | |
| Name | PSConstant |
| Commissioned | 7 November 2014 |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Trinkat-classpatrol vessel |
| Displacement | 319 long tons (324 t) |
| Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h) |
PSContant is aTrinkat-classpatrol vessel owned and operated by theSeychelles Coast Guard. She was formerly operated by theIndian Navy as INSTarasa (T63).[1]India, as well as theUnited Arab Emirates, have helped equip the Seychelles Coast Guard with patrol vessels.[2][3][4][5][6] India and the UAE helped equip the tinySeychelles with these patrol vessels due to its strategic location, very near the area off theHorn of Africa that is notorious for pirate attacks.
India's most senior naval officer,Robin Dhowan, traveled to Seychelles, for the official handover.[7] She was the second vessel India turned over to Seychelles.Tarmugli was re-christenedPS Topaz when she was transferred in 2005.[8]
Apart from Etoile and Constant there are four other patrol vessels in the Seychelles Coast Guard's fleet; Topaz, Andromache (built in Italy in 1982 and funded by the Seychelles government) and La Flèche and Le Vigilant (both gifted by the UAE in 2011). - See more at:
Seychelles now has 6 patrol ships: Topaz, Constant, Andromache, Etoile, La Flèche and Le Vigilant.
Two of these patrol boats are 30 metres long and can carry around 15 people each. The first has been named La Flèche and the second is Le Vigilant.
Over the past few years, the UAE has provided the Seychelles with a coast guard headquarters, radar stations, patrol boats and surveillance aircraft. There are now about 100 Somali pirates facing jail terms in the Seychelles and helping provide information about piracy gangs.
"The UAE pledged the donation of five maritime patrol vessels in July last year... We are deeply grateful for this gesture and we note its importance as our fight against piracy is an immediate concern, which requires swift action and concrete support from the international community," said Seychellois President Michel.
INS Tarasa, which has been recently refitted at Naval Dockyard Mumbai, will join her sister ship SCG Topaz as part of the Indian Navy's assistance to Seychelles Coast Guard in capacity building towards meeting her maritime security needs.
INS Tarasa (re-christened PS Constant) is the second fast Attack Craft to be gifted by the Government of India to Seychelles in the recent times, the previous being INS Tarmugli that was renamed PS Topaz.
 Indian Navy | |
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 Maldivian Coast Guard |
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 Seychelles Coast Guard | |
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