SLNS Sagara
History
Sri Lanka
Builder	Hindustan Shipyard Limited
Launched	1992
Commissioned	2006
Homeport	SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Vikram class
Displacement	1,220 long tons (1,240 t)
Length	74.1 m (243 ft 1 in)
Beam	11.4 m (37 ft 5 in)
Draught	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines, 6,200 hp (4.6 MW) sustained, 2 shafts and cp props.
Speed	22 kn (41 km/h)
Range	cruise 16 kn (30 km/h)
Endurance	8,500 nmi (15,700 km)
Complement	11 officers, 89 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	Two Decca 1226 - I band
Armament	1x 30 mm automatic CRN 91 Naval Gun in place of the Bofors 40 mm/60 gun; 2x Type 58 14.5mm machine guns, multiple Type 80 machine guns, additional weapon systems added
Aircraft carried	Not operationally deployed
Aviation facilities	helicopter deck and enclosed hangar

SLNS Sagara (Sagara meaning: Sea) is an Offshore Patrol Vessel (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 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.^[1]

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