Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta has assumed charge as the new Director General Coast Guard in a simple cremony held at the Coast Guard headquarters in New Delhi.

A graduate of the National Defence Academy, Vice Admiral Mehta was commissioned into the Indian Navy in July 1967. He joined the Fleet Air Arm and extensively flew the Sea Hawk from the carrier INS Vikrant.

The Flag officer has held various important afloat and ashore appointments including the command of INS Beas anmd INS Godavari and INS Garuda. In October 1998, he assumed the command of Western Fleet. He led the 'Sword Arm' of Navy on offensive manoeuvres during the Kargil conflict.

It was the month of February and the sea was pretty rough. The Coast Guard ship Akka Devi had sailed out from Chennai on routine patrol. Whilst on patrol in Palk Bay, the ship was directed to proceed towards Nagapattinam on a search-and-rescue mission.

The ship was off Nagapattinam on the Tamil Nadu coast and was rolling and pitching heavily in the rough waters. The crew on watch was experiencing difficulty in cruising properly. Still the crew was vigilant as ever and one of them Nvk (RP), VV Reddy promptly reported sighting one boat in the waters.

Akka Devi immediately altered the course to investigate and no sooner had it started closing the boat than she started steaming, in a bid to get away. After a long chase lasting for an hour, the boat was finally forced to stop.

At first sight the boat appeared to be Sri Lankan. A boarding party was sent across from Akka Devi and the boat was boarded 30 miles off Nagapattinam. The boarding party observed that the boat was fishing in Indian waters without a valid permit, thereby committing an offence under the MZI Act, 1981. The boat crew was not in possession of any papers regarding ownership and registration of the boat. The crew was also not in possession of passports/seamen books.

Under these circumstances, the ship embarked the four Sri Lankans for further investigation, took the vessel under tow and headed for Chennai. The offenders along with their boat were handed over to police for investigation and trial.

It was a satisfying moment for the crew of CGS Kanaklata Barua when they rescued six precious lives onboard MV Gulma, which was drifting very fast towards deep sea and was fully loaded.

MV Gulma sailed from Port Blair and was heading towards Carnic. The ship was fully loaded with cargo. When the ship was 20 to 30 nautical miles off Port Blair, she got a major mechanical break-down. The ship's single main engine ceased. The ship’s crew tried their level best to rectify the fault but failed. The sea was picking up and the condition of crew was deteriorating due to sea-sickness and shock. They pressed the distress button which was picked by Coast Guard Regional Headquarters Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

CGS Kanaklata Barua was on her way to Port Blair after conducting a survey of Mus Harbour, when she got a message from RHQ (A&N) to sail immediately towards MV Gulma and provide all possible assistance. The ship headed towards MV Gulma with full ahead in spite of a heavy sea. The sea was showing its rage and water splashes were going over the ship. When the ship was 10 nautical miles from Gulma, communication was established with her. The captain of MV Gulma informed the Commanding Officer of Kanaklata Barua about the situation onboard. The Commanding Officer asked him to prepare the ship for towing.

CGS Kanaklata Barua reached at position within no time. The sea was not conducive for towing operation but the Commanding Officer decided to go close to MV Gulma and take her under tow. Within 45 minutes, MV Gulma was under tow and the ship headed towards Port Blair.

Coast Guard ship Sangram commanded by DIG R Singh, while on its routine patrol along the Indo-Pak IBL, sighted two Pak fishing boats namely AI Rahim and AI Farahan fishing in Indian waters. Sangram apprehended both the boats alongwith its crew. They were handed over to Coast Guard Station, Okha for post-apprehension investigations.

The ship sighted another three Pakistani fishing boats namely Subhan Allah, AI Husna and AI Mustafa. On sighting the ship, these boats tried to escape but after a hot chase, the boats alongwith 41 crew were apprehended and handed over to Coast Guard Station, Okha. The crew of the boats were interrogated by Coast Guard local police and other Intelligence officials.