Navy Chief Reviews INS Brahmaputra Damage
Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi reviewed the damage to the frigate INS Brahmaputra at Mumbai Naval Dockyard on Tuesday, two days after a fire broke out aboard the frontline warship its ‘listing’ on the port side. “The Navy Chief reviewed the sequence of events leading to the accident and the efforts undertaken to locate the missing sailor,” Navy Spokesperson said,
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) received a briefing on the actions taken to minimize the damage, the recovery plan, and the repairs needed to restore the ship’s functionality as soon as possible. According to the official, the CNS directed the Command and naval headquarters to initiate all necessary actions immediately to make INS Brahmaputra seaworthy and combat-ready.
Interacting with the crew of INS Brahmaputra, the CNS encouraged them to work towards the ship’s early operationalization in the true spirit of the Indian Navy.
The official informed that intensive diving operations have located the Leading Seaman Jitendra Singh’s body today.
“Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, CNS, and all personnel of the Indian Navy extend their deepest condolences to the family of Leading Seaman Jitendra Singh,” the statement stated.
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.