SLNS ''Sagara'' (''Sagara'' meaning: Sea) is an

Offshore Patrol Vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

(OPV) of the Sri Lanka Navy. It was formerly the ICGS ''Varaha'' (41), a Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard, leased to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 2006 and was handed over to the Sri Lanka Navy in 2015.

History

Commissioned on 11 March 1992, CGS ''Varaha'' (41) served with the Indian Coast Guard until she was leased to Sri Lanka in 2006. In August 2015 Sri Lanka acquired the ship for permanent use.India gifts ship 'Varaha' to SL Navy
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Operations

Since 2006, ''SLNS Sagara'' was tasked with deep sea patrolling both within the Sri Lankan territorial waters and in international waters to curb ongoing arms smuggling by the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

during the Sri Lankan Civil War. In the later stages of the war after undergoing a major refit in India, ''Sagara'', along with other OPVs of the Sri Lankan Navy, has been able to successfully intercept several ships smuggling arms for the

. In all these cases the ships were sunk when they attacked the naval vessels with mortars.

References

External links

www.bharat-rakshak.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagara Ships of the Sri Lanka Navy Naval ships of Sri Lanka 1992 ships Ships built in India