This is a list of accidents that have taken place in the Indian Navy. The list may be incomplete for years before 2000.
Article in India Today reported that since 1990, the Indian Navy has lost one warship in peacetime every five years. Since 2004, it has lost one naval combatant every two years. While peacetime losses of warships are not uncommon, the magazine mentioned that few global navies have such a dubious record. [1] According to the Times of India , while some of accidents reported since August 2013 were serious, many of them were trivial incidents exaggerated in public. [2]
These accidents have been attributed to ageing ships in need of maintenance (refit/repairs delayed in spite of laid down rules for refit cycles), delayed acquisitions by the Ministry of Defence, and human error. [1] However naval commentators also argue that as India's large navy of 160 ships clocks around 12,000 ship-days at sea every year, in varied waters and weather, some incidents are inevitable. [3] [4] Captains of erring ships are dismissed from their command following an enquiry. [5] [6] The navy is envisaging a new 'Safety Organisation' to improve safety of its warships, nuclear submarines and aircraft in view of its planned increase in fleet strength over the next decade. [7]
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region. It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as the western Mediterranean sea simultaneously.
INS Sindhurakshak was a Russian-made Kilo-class 877EKM (Sindhughosh-class) diesel-electric submarine of the Indian Navy. Commissioned on 24 December 1997, it was the ninth of the ten Kilo-class submarines in the Indian Navy. On 4 June 2010, the Indian Defence Ministry and Zvezdochka shipyard signed a contract worth US$80 million to upgrade and overhaul the submarine. After the overhaul, it returned to India from Russia between May and June 2013.
PNS/M Ghazi (S–130), SJ, was a Tench-class diesel-electric submarine, the first fast-attack submarine in the Pakistan Navy. She was leased from the United States Navy in 1963.
The Brahmaputra-class frigates are guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy, designed and built in India. They are an enhancement of the Godavari class, with a displacement of 3850 tons and a length of 126 metres (413 ft). Although of similar hull and dimension, internally, the Brahmaputra and Godavari classes have different configurations, armaments and capabilities. 3 ships of this class serve in the Indian Navy.
INS Khukri was a Type 14 (Blackwood-class) frigate of the Indian Navy. She was sunk off the coast of Diu, Gujarat, India by the Pakistan Navy Daphné-class submarine Hangor on 9 December 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. This was the first warship sunk in action by a submarine since World War II. It remains the post-Independence Indian navy's only warship to be lost in war.
Sindhughosh-class submarines are Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines in active service with the Indian Navy. Their names are in Sanskrit, but in their Roman-alphabet forms sometimes a final short -a is dropped.
INS Ranvir is the fourth of the five Rajput-class destroyers built for the Indian Navy. Ranvir was commissioned on 28 October 1986.
INS Tabar (F44) is the third of the Talwar-class frigate of the Indian Navy. The frigate was commissioned on 19 April 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia with Captain Biswajit Dasgupta. The current Commanding Officer (CO) of INS Tabar is Captain Mahesh Mangipudi.
INS Sindhughosh (S55) is the lead ship of her class of diesel-electric submarines of the Indian Navy.
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque was a warship of the Portuguese Navy, named after the 16th-century Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque. She was destroyed in combat on 18 December 1961, defending Goa against the Indian Armed Forces Annexation of Goa.
INS Betwa (F39) is a Brahmaputra-class guided missile frigate currently in service with the Indian Navy. The ship is named for the Betwa River.
Nerpa is a 8,140-tonne (8,010-long-ton) Project 971 nuclear-powered attack submarine. The construction of the submarine was started in Russia in 1993, but was suspended due to lack of funding. India then sponsored further construction and sea trials of the submarine provided it was leased to the Indian Navy for 10 years. It was launched as K-152 Nerpa in October 2008 and entered service with the Russian Navy in late 2009. The submarine was leased to the Indian Navy in 2011 after extensive trials, and was formally commissioned into service as INS Chakra with the Eastern Naval Command at a ceremony in Visakhapatnam on 4 April 2012. In June 2021 Chakra was spotted on the surface escorted by Indian and Russian warships in the Singapore Strait while presumably heading towards the Russian naval base in Vladivostok; some media speculated that she was returning to Russia before the expiry of the lease term.
INS Satpura (F48) is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate built for the Indian Navy. This class is an improvement over the preceding Talwar-class frigates with increased stealth and land attack features.
Vice Admiral Rustom Khushro Shapur 'Rusi' Ghandhi, PVSM, VrC was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command from 1977 to 1979. He is the only officer to have commanded ships in all wars and conflicts post Independence. He commanded the frigate INS Betwa (1959) during the Annexation of Goa, the destroyer INS Khukri (F149) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the cruiser INS Mysore (C60) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
INS Nireekshak (A15) (Inspector) is a diving support vessel (DSV) of Indian Navy. It can also function as interim submarine rescue vessel (SRV).
The Visakhapatnam-class destroyers, also classified as the P-15 Bravo class, or simply P-15B, is a class of guided-missile destroyers currently being built for the Indian Navy (IN). The Visakhapatnam class is an upgraded derivative of its predecessor, the Kolkata class, with improved features of stealth, automation and ordnance.
Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX) is an inter-service military exercise involving the participation of the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy and the Coast Guard. The exercise generally commences at the beginning of each year and lasts a month. It is generally carried out in three phrases: independent workup phase, joint workup phase and tactical phase.
Rear Admiral Arun Auditto, AVSM, NM was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He was decorated with a gallantry award during the Liberation of Goa. A pioneer submariner in the Indian Navy, he was the commissioning Commanding Officer of the Kalvari-class submarine INS Kursura (S20), which he commanded during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He later commanded the submarine base INS Virbahu and the Whitby-class frigate INS Trishul (F143). After promotion to flag rank, he served as the Fortress Commander Andaman and Nicobar (FORTAN) and as the first Flag Officer Submarines, before retiring in 1988.