A fire had broken out onboard INS Brahmaputra, a multi-role Frigate, on the evening of 21 Jul 24 while she was undergoing refit at ND (Mbi), as reported earlier.
Accident Onboard INS Brahmaputra
A fire had broken out onboard INS Brahmaputra, a multi-role Frigate, on the evening of 21 Jul 24 while she was undergoing refit at ND (Mbi), as reported earlier. The fire was brought under control by the ship’s crew with assistance of firefighters from Naval Dockyard, Mumbai {ND (Mbi)} and other ships in harbour, by morning of 22 Jul 24.
Further, follow-on actions including sanitisation checks for assessment of residual risk of fire were carried out. Subsequently, in the afternoon, the ship experienced severe listing to one side (port side). Despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to the upright position. The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side.
All personnel have been accounted for except one junior sailor, for whom the search is in progress. An inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Navy to investigate the matter.
INS Brahmaputra is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates of the Indian Navy. She was built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. The design and construction of the ship is entirely Indian and is a modification of the Godavari class of frigates. The INS Brahmaputra is the first of the indigenously built ‘Brahmaputra’ class guided missile frigate. It was commissioned into the Indian Navy in April 2000. The ship is manned by a crew of 40 officers and 330 sailors.
Launched: 29 January 1994
Length: 126 m
Builder: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers
Commissioned: 14 April 2000
The ship is fitted with a medium range, close range and anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedo launchers. The ship has a wide array of sensors covering all facets of maritime warfare and is capable of operating Seaking and Chetak helicopters. The INS Brahmaputra has a displacement of 5,300 tonnes, a length of 125 metres, a beam of 14.4 metres and is capable of speed in excess of 27 knots.
Indian Navy saw 38 accidents due to lack of manpower, funds since 2007: CAG
Ships and submarines of the Indian Navy were involved in 38 accidents from 2007 to 2016, which adversely impacted the operations of the force, says a CAG report. The accidents were primarily attributable to fire, explosions, or flooding, it said. According to the CAG report, among the inadequacies noticed by the audit are inadequacies in the implementation of recommendations of boards of inquiry, the delayed creation of a safety organisation, and lack of manpower/expertise for analysis of accidents/incidents.
