On the evening of 21 July, a massive fire broke out onboard the Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra, a multi-role indigenous Frigate, while she was undergoing refit at ND (MBI). The Indian Navy, in a statement, highlighted the swift and coordinated efforts of the ship’s crew, along with the assistance of firefighters from Naval Dockyard, Mumbai (ND (MBI) and other ships in the harbour, in bringing the fire under control by the morning of 22 July. This was followed by thorough sanitisation checks to assess the residual risk of fire. The fire caused ‘sinking’ of INS Brahmaputra.
“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.” the Navy stated.
An enquiry will determine the cause of the fire and ‘sinking’ of INS Brahmaputra. At the time of this report it was not clear about the chances of salvaging the frontline ship.
Cause of the fire and ‘sinking’ of INS Brahmaputra will be determined by an enquiry. Not clear yet about chances of salvaging the frontline ship. Below a file pix of the ship and of the actual fire and its ‘listing’ on the port side pic.twitter.com/XkBpFp2kzv
— Nitin A. Gokhale (@nitingokhale) July 22, 2024
The Navy said all personnel have been accounted for except one junior sailor, for whom the search is in progress. The Indian Navy is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all its personnel. However, details about the extent of the damage caused to the ship by the fire are not available.
A statement stated that an inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the fire, which was detected by the ship’s duty staff while carrying out routine maintenance work.
Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the mishap on INS Brahmaputra according to a post on social media X. He directed the Navy Chief to take appropriate action.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has apprised RM Shri @rajnathsingh of the fire breakout onboard Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra and the damages caused by the incident.
RM prays for the safety of missing sailor.
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) July 22, 2024
INS Brahmaputra, which was commissioned in April 2000 after being built by defence shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited at Kolkata, was undergoing a refit at the naval dockyard when the fire broke out on Sunday, packed with weapons and sensors. it had a crew of around 450 including 40-odd officers.
Earlier, in 2016, another Brahmaputra-class frigate, INS Betwa had flipped over in Naval Dockyard Mumbai, killing 2 sailors while undergoing refit. However, INS Betwa became operational again with the help of international salvage experts. The Indian Navy had been hit by a string of accidents, almost 40 of them, between 2007 and 2016. In February 2014, the then Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral DK Joshi had owned moral responsibility and resigned after two serious accidents on board two submarines -INS Sindhurakshak and INS Sindhuratna which killed five officers and 15 sailors.
CAG report have flagged several deficiencies in the management of refits of warships that take place in the two naval dockyards at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam and three naval ships repair yards at Port Blair, Kochi and Karwar.
Team BharatShakti
