Indian Naval Ship Baratang, an indigenously designed and built Fast Attack Craft, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 12 September 2006. The ship has a displacement of 320 tonnes, a length of 46 metres and beam of 7.5 metres and is capable of speed in excess of 25 knots. She is manned by a crew of five officers and 55 sailors and is fitted with a medium range and light machine guns. This enables the ship to perform a wide variety of roles including coastal patrol, search and rescue, coastal security and surface warfare. The name ‘Baratang’ is derived from one of the islands of the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands. The ship’s crest depicts a Blue and Black ‘Sea Horse’ with the characteristic curved tail against a Blue background. It has a relevance to Indian mythology, where it is identified as Lord Varun’s ‘Vahana’.
