Cochin Shipyard has cut the first steel for the first of a planned three ambulance boats to be operated by the Department of Fisheries of the state government of Kerala.
Each of the Rs 6.08 crore (US$854,000) vessels will have a length of 22.5 metres, a width of six metres, a speed of 14 knots, and space for two patients and a crew of seven including paramedics.
Onboard facilities will include medical beds, an examination room, a refrigerator, and a mortuary freezer.
Delivery of the vessels is scheduled for 2020.
