BNS ''Somudra Joy''The name has been widely, but incorrectly, reported as ''Somudro Joy'' or other variants is one of the two largest ships of the

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...

along with her sister ship BNS Somudra Avijan. Although originally a high endurance cutter the Bangladesh Navy reclassified the ship as a frigate. They acquired the ship from the United States under ''Excess Defense Articles''. Currently she is being used as a training ship for naval cadets.

History

From 1972 to 2012 the ship was known as and served the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

as a high endurance cutter. She was decommissioned on 30 March 2012 and was acquired by

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

under the

Foreign Assistance Act The Foreign Assistance Act (, et seq.) is a United States law governing foreign aid policy. It outlined the political and ideological principles of U.S. foreign aid, significantly overhauled and reorganized the structure U.S. foreign assistance ...

as an Excess Defense Article. A team of US Coast Guard personnel visited Bangladesh in February 2013. The first group of

personnel, consisting of 7 officers and 13 sailors, left Bangladesh in February to start training on board ''Jarvis'' on 13 March 2013. She was officially handed over to the Bangladesh Navy on 23 May 2013. The Ship was dedicated as a training ship from 24 March 2016 for training naval cadets, midshipman and sub-lieutenants.

Career

BNS ''Somudra Joy'' arrived at her new homeport of Chattogram on 13 December 2013 and was commissioned on 23 December 2013. The ship is currently serving with Commanding Commodore BN Flotilla (COMBAN). During her transit to Bangladesh from the United States, she was diverted to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to distribute emergency aid for the victims of

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

on behalf of

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

. She arrived there on 29 November 2013. BNS ''Somudra Joy'' was sent to

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

on 9 December 2014, to aid in the water crisis that took place in capital

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

on 8 December 2014. She carried 100 tonnes of drinking water and five desalination plants there. On 23 April 2015, she left for

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

to join the multinational maritime exercise, Exercise Ferocious Falcon-2015. The ship took part in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training(CARAT), an annual bilateral exercise with

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, in 2015. ''Somudra Joy'' left Chattogram on 30 January 2016 on a seven-day visit to India to join International Fleet Review 2016. The fleet review held in

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where 52 countries participated. ''Somudra Joy'', with sister ship left Chattogram for India and Sri Lanka on a goodwill visit on 18 September 2016. The ships were at

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

, India from 21 to 25 September and at Colombo port, Sri Lanka from 29 September to 4 October. They returned Chattogram on 9 October 2016. ''Somudra Joy'' participated in ''ASEAN International Fleet Review 2017'' held at Pattaya beach of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

on 21 November 2017. She stayed in Thailand from 16 November to 21 November 2017 to participate in the exercise. On the way to Thailand, the ship visited Lumut Port of Malaysia from 8 November to 11 November 2017. The ship also visited Langkawi port of Malaysia on her way back home from 27 November to 30 November 2017. The ship left Chattogram on a training tour on 1 September 2018. She visited the

Visakhapatnam Port Visakhapatnam Port is one of 13 major ports in India and the only major port of Andhra Pradesh. It is India's third largest state-owned port by volume of cargo handled and largest on the Eastern Coast. It is located midway between the Chennai a ...

of India from 4 September to 8 September 2018 and

Port of Colombo The Port of Colombo (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as an ...

in Sri Lanka from 12 September to 16 September 2018. She returned home on 20 September 2018. ''Somudra Joy'' participated in Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition(LIMA)-2019, held from 26 to 30 March. She left Chattogram to take part in the event on 21 March 2019. The ship came back home on 20 April 2019. On 1 September 2019, Samudra Joy left Chattogram for Sri Lanka and India on a training visit. She was at the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka from 7 September to 10 September 2019 and at the port of Visakhapatnam of India 14 September to 17 September 2019. She came back home on 19 September 2019.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somudra Joy Ships of the Bangladesh Navy Frigates of the Bangladesh Navy Hamilton-class cutters of the Bangladesh Navy Hamilton-class cutters Ships built in Bridge City, Louisiana 1971 ships

History

Career

See also

Notes

References