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Mumbai: A major fire on board front line guided missile frigate INS Brahmaputra undergoing maintenance and refit at Naval Dockyard on Friday night has raised questions on safety protocols of the Indian Navy in the Mumbai harbour. A junior sailor is reported missing in the fire.
“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 accident," said Indian Navy spokesperson.
The “Raging Rhino” indigenous warship INS Brahmaputra commissioned in 2000 “keels over” listing heavily on the port side of her berthing at the Naval Dockyard after several hours of fire fighting till Monday afternoon.
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INS Brahmaputra |
“A fire on naval frigate docked at Naval Dockyard for frigate was brought under control with assistance of fire fighters from other ships and the dockyard fire brigade. A salvage team is making efforts to bring the ship in upright position and stop further listing alongside her berth,” confirmed a senior naval commander supervising the rescue efforts.
The frigate with a a crew of 40 officers and 330 sailors has medium range, close range and anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedo launchers covering all facets of maritime warfare and is capable of operating Seaking and Chetak helicopters.
The Western Naval Command has been plagued with several disasters in last 10 years of major fires, collisions and explosions onboard the fleet of warships and submarines in Mumbai Harbor. An explosion onboard INS Ranvir docked in Mumbai led to the death of three sailors eleven others were injured in January 2022
The Indian Navy witnessed another major disaster in August 2013 when a fire on submarine INS Sindhurakshak in the naval dockyard ignited pair of warheads and set off two torpedoes damaging other vessels in the naval dockyard killing 18 naval personnel. Another naval frigate INS Talwar had collided with a fishing trawler in December 2013 while INS Tarkash , suffered damage to its hull when it hit the jetty while docking at the Mumbai naval base the same month.
In January 2014 INS Betwa ran aground and collided with an unidentified object while approaching the Mumbai naval base and again in December 2016 INS Betwa tipped over and crashed on its side while it was undocking in Mumbai killing two sailors and 14 others injured.
A fire on kilo class submarine INS Sindhuratna resulted in smoke leading to suffocation and death of two officers in February 2014. A toxic gas leak onboard INS Kolkatta docked in Mumbai killed naval commander Kuntal Wadhwa in March 2014.
