17-Jul-2022: INS Sindhudhvaj decommissioned after 35 years of glorious service to the nation
INS Sindhudhvaj bid adieu to Indian Navy on Saturday, 16 Jul 2022, serving for a glorious period of 35 years. Vice Adm Biswajit Dasgupta Flag Officer Commanding -in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command was the Chief Guest for the ceremony. The Decommissioning event was attended by 15 of the former Commanding Officers including Cmde SP Singh (Retd), the Commissioning CO and 26 Commissioning crew veterans.
The submarine crest depicts a gray colour nurse shark and the name means flag bearer at sea. Sindhudhvaj, as the name suggests, was the flag bearer of indigenisation and Indian Navy's efforts towards achieving Aatmanirbharta in the Russian built Sindhughosh class submarines throughout her journey in the navy. She had many a firsts to her credit including operationalisation of the indigenised sonar USHUS, Indigenised Satellite Communication systems Rukmani and MSS, Inertial Navigation System and Indigenised Torpedo Fire Control System.
She also successfully undertook mating and personnel transfer with Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel and only submarine to be awarded CNS Rolling trophy for Innovation by the Honourable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.
The traditional ceremony was conducted at sunset, with an overcast sky adding to the solemnity of the occasion when the Decommissioning Pennant was lowered and the submarine was paid off after a glorious patrol of 35 Years.
1-Jul-2022: INS Kochi visits Safaga, Egypt
INS Kochi, Mission Deployed in the Red Sea visited Port Safaga, Egypt from 28 - 30 Jun 22.
During the ship's visit, Rear Admiral Sameer Saxena, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF), along with Captain Himadri Bose, Commanding Officer, INS Kochi, called on Rear Admiral Mohamed Nabil Ibrahim Ahmed, Base Commander of Safaga Naval Base, Egyptian Navy. His Excellency Mr. Ajit Gupte, Ambassador of India to Egypt, also met Rear Admiral Sameer Saxena, FOCWF onboard INS Kochi.
Engagements between Indian Navy and Egyptian Navy personnel included a friendly football match at the Red Sea Navy Base, where RAdm Mohammed Nabil Ibrahim Ahmed, was the Chief Guest. Personnel from both the navies also carried out ship visits.
On her departure from Safaga on 30 June 22, INS Kochi participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Egyptian Navy ships ENS Al Zubair and ENS Abu Ubadah (Lurssen Class Offshore Patrol Boats). The exercise comprised of Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) drills, communication exercise, flag hoist drills and operational manoeuvres including ceremonial steam past.
28-May-2022: INS Gomati decommissioned
Having served the nation and the Indian Navy with great distinction for 34 eventful years, INS Gomati was decommissioned at sunset at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on 28 May 2022, in an elegant, solemn and poignant ceremony. The ship was paid off under the command of Captain Sudip Malik.
INS Gomati derives her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on 16 April 1988 by then Raksha Mantri, Shri KC Pant, at Mazagon Dock Ltd, Bombay.
The third ship of the Godavari class guided-missile frigates, INS Gomati was also the oldest warrior of the Western Fleet when decommissioned.
During her service, she participated in Operations Cactus, Parakram and Rainbow, and several bilateral and multinational naval exercises. For her remarkable spirit and stellar contribution to national maritime security, she was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, once in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20.
After her decommissioning, the ship's legacy will be kept alive in an open air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of the eponymous river Gomti in Lucknow where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics.