Mariya hails new Huravee ship as biggest change to Coastguard fleet

Defence minister Mariya Ahmed Didi said on Tuesday that the replacement vessel gifted by India for Huravee ship, which was commissioned on Tuesday, is the biggest and most modern change that the Coastguard fleet will see.

The gift, announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August, was brought to the Maldives on April 15. The ship was officially handed over to MNDF at a grand ceremony held on Tuesday, attended by visiting Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Mariya.

Speaking on the occasion, Mariya highlighted the importance of such a ship for the service of the Coastguard.

Mariya said that with 99% of Maldives being the ocean, illegal fishing, drug smuggling, arms and human trafficking and oil spills are the biggest challenges facing the country. When the Coastguard was formed, the ships in use were small and in the absence of modern weapons, it was difficult to maintain maritime security, she said.

"In the 1990s, when the Coastguard got bigger inshore patrol vessels, there was some relief," Maria said.

"But even those ships do not have the necessary endurance for sustained operations in this big exclusive economic zone of the country."

According to the minister, the only solution to the issue was the offshore petrol vessel Huravee, which was donated by India in 2006. Since then, Huravee has been used as the main vessel of the Coastguard, she said.

Mariya said that during this period, millions of Rufiyaa were spent on the repair of the ship.

"But the government of India has taken care of the expenses of all these refits," she said.

The replacement vessel, which was donated by India, was given after the previous Huravee ship was abandoned since  it became difficult to find spares and repair it.

Mariya added:

Major Ahmed Zaeem is the commanding officer of the new ship. The ship is entirely comprised of local sailors.