Tag: #Indian navy

World Tsunami Awareness Day

Posted on by mhsadmin

Kajal Gautam

Research Intern

Maritime History Society

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai

Source:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa#/media/File%3ATsunami_by_hokusai_1 9th_century.jpg

 

The term ‘Tsunami’ is derived from the Japanese word “tsu” meaning harbor and “nami” meaning waves and is used in reference to a phenomenon that is related to tidal waves that are characterized by a long wavelength and period.[i] Created by heavy displacement of water, tsunamis can be generated from any large event, ranging from earthquakes and underwater explosions, to volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts. Rare but extremely dangerous, tsunamis have claimed multiple human lives while also leading to heavy destruction of human property and infrastructural damage. Continue reading “World Tsunami Awareness Day” →

INS Kavaratti: Power Punched and deadly!

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Ms. Uma Kabe, Project Research Associate, Maritime History Society

“A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guarantee of peace”.

–  Theodore Roosevelt.

Promoting the ‘Make in India’ initiative, INS Kavaratti (P31), the last of the four Kamorta Class Corvettes under Project 28 (P28), was commissioned into the Indian Navy (IN) by the then Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane through a formal function held at the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam on 22 October 2020.[1] Designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) in collaboration with a Swedish Company, the indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Stealth Corvette, is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata at an estimated cost of 1,700 crores.[2] The hull of the ship was jointly developed by Defence Research and Development Organization and IN.[3] Continue reading “INS Kavaratti: Power Punched and deadly!” →

The bedrock of overhauling activities of the Eastern Naval Command: INS Eksila

The bedrock of overhauling activities of the Eastern Naval Command: INS Eksila

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By Ms Sadaf Khan, Archive and Collection Associate, Maritime History Society

The requirement to create an indigenous marine gas turbine overhaul facility was realised in the Indian Navy during the early eighties. An idea was laid out to create a composite and self-contained gas turbine overhauling facility. This independent facility was to be operated by service personnel which would cater to contemporary Gas Turbines and the ones acquired in future as well. As the government sanctioned for the same in September 1984, the foundation stone was laid by Vice Admiral SC Chopra PVSM, AVSM, NM, the then Flag Officer Commanding–in–Chief, Eastern Naval Command on 25 Aug 1988. On 22 October 1991, the facility was established at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh as the Marine Gas Turbine Overhaul Centre (MGTOC) and inaugurated by Admiral L Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC, the then Chief of Naval Staff.1 Continue reading “The bedrock of overhauling activities of the Eastern Naval Command: INS Eksila” →

The Tales and Trials of the Indigenous and Formidable INS Arihant

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By Ms Uma Kabe, Project Research Associate, Maritime History Society

“Of all the branches of the men in the forces, there is no one which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariners”

-Winston Churchill.

India’s first indigenously constructed Strategic Strike Sub Surface Ballistic Nuclear Submarine (SSBN), Indian Naval Ship (INS) Arihant (S2), was launched at the Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam on 26 July 2009, by the then Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to commemorate the anniversary of Kargil War- celebrated as Vijay Diwas. Post the activation of the atomic reactor in 2013 and extensive sea trials thereafter, the vessel was commissioned into the Indian Navy (IN) in 2016 by Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. The indigenous construction of INS Arihant helped India strengthen its defence and strategic planning while reinforcing its maritime standing. India was the only country to develop a nuclear submarine apart from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Manufactured under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, INS Arihant, the lead vessel of its class, was collectively constructed by IN, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and a few Russian designers.[i] Tata Power and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) have also significantly contributed to the development of this Submarine. Continue reading “The Tales and Trials of the Indigenous and Formidable INS Arihant” →

Importance of INS Dweeprakshak: India’s Naval Sentinel

Importance of INS Dweeprakshak: India’s Naval Sentinel

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By Swapna Nair, Senior Research Associate, Maritime History Society

Many islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific were the appendages of the imperialist metropolises in the days of colonial expansion. And Lakshadweep, located on a centuries-old trade route that connected South India to West Asia and Europe, had to curl up with the vestiges of the ‘global dynamics’ of the European colonial powers. Continue reading “Importance of INS Dweeprakshak: India’s Naval Sentinel” →

Sentinels of the Deep: INS Karanj

Sentinels of the Deep: INS Karanj

Posted on by Janhavi Lokegaonkar

By Janhavi Lokegaonkar, Senior Research Associate, Maritime History Society

The efficacy of submarines as a potent military machine was established during the Second World War. Since then, the advancement of these submersible combat vessels have earned them the sobriquet of ‘silent killers of the deep’. They are valued for their relative undetectability underwater and capability to sneak up and destroy a much stronger warships using lethal torpedoes or anti-ship missiles. This gives them the badge of being one of the best deterrents that any navy can possess. The Indian Navy inducted its first submarines in 1967, which were the Foxtrot-class submarines from the erstwhile Soviet Union. Today, the Indian Navy submarine arm has come a long way progressing towards indigenous construction and demonstrating India’s technological prowess. Continue reading “Sentinels of the Deep: INS Karanj” →

Celebrating Woman in Indian Maritime History

Celebrating Woman in Indian Maritime History

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By Mamum Megu, Reserach Intern

Introduction

International women’s day is an event to commemorate the progress made towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, it is imperative to acknowledge and appreciate the prodigious contribution of women to Indian Maritime History.

Women’s occupancy in the Indian Armed Forces initially came to fruition in the year 1888 with the formation of the Indian Military Nursing Service. The nursing staff of the Indian Army played an outstanding role during World War I. Their commitment in the wartime was so stellar that the Women’s Auxiliary Corps (India) was formed on 9 April 1942 that would expedite women’s workforce to serve in non-combat roles. Continue reading “Celebrating Woman in Indian Maritime History” →

Exercise Milan: A Brief Overview of the Multilateral Naval Exercise in the Indian Ocean Region

Exercise Milan: A Brief Overview of the Multilateral Naval Exercise in the Indian Ocean Region

Posted on by Janhavi Lokegaonkar

By Janhavi Lokegaonkar, Senior Research Associate, Maritime History Society

The Indian subcontinent has a vast history of flourishing maritime associations that predominantly involved commerce, culture and religion. However, the legacy of the erstwhile Indian mariners and seafarers who plied the oceans afar was gradually eclipsed by the lure of terrestrial possession until the last century. The liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation reforms in India in the ’90s can be regarded as a tipping point of enunciation of a change in the policy and national outlook towards our maritime frontiers. It rendered increased attention towards infrastructural development of Indian ports and its underlying coastal areas thereby placing the blueprint of maritime strategies on a national pedestal. This paradigm shift in our strategic outlook gained gradual prominence. Continue reading “Exercise Milan: A Brief Overview of the Multilateral Naval Exercise in the Indian Ocean Region” →

Anti-Piracy Operation Of Lakshadweep Islands

Anti-Piracy Operation Of Lakshadweep Islands

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By Swapna Nair, Senior Research Associate, Maritime History Society

INTRODUCTION

Piracy has been widely romanticized by writers and filmmakers, and many people often harbor visions of bearded rebels sailing seas of endless blue, something close to a maritime “Robin Hood’ of sorts. In truth, modern-day piracy (in whatever form) is a violent, bloody, and ruthless practice.[1] Pirates steal, mangle and even kill. In addition, the fearsome captivity of victims for ransom is yet another sombre act. Although maritime piracy is a historical phenomenon, it has reemerged in recent years off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Guinea, and in the international straits of Indonesia.[2] Global acts of piracy rose quickly on the coast of Somalia from 2008 to 2011 and steadily grew off the east coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, among other places.[3] Somali piracy appears to be on the decline, in large mainly because of the effectiveness of international efforts to combat piracy, however, global piracy continues to challenge the international shipping and trade industry, coastal states, and seafarers worldwide.

Continue reading “Anti-Piracy Operation Of Lakshadweep Islands” →

Remembering Indian Navy’s Humanitarian Intervention: Tsunami 2004

Remembering Indian Navy’s Humanitarian Intervention: Tsunami 2004

Posted on by Krishna Kataria

By Krishna Kataria Project Research Associate, Maritime History Society (MHS)

When on 26 December 2004, Tsunami struck due to an undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, within 12 hours the first Indian naval helicopters were in Sri Lanka with relief material. In the next 24 hours, two Indian naval ships were already in Galle and Trincomalee and three others had been dispatched to Male. And within a few days, the Indian Navy had converted two of its ships into hospital ships and sent them to Indonesia, which was the worst hit. Since then, the Indian Navy has played a leading role in being the first determinant in humanitarian operations carried out in the Indian Ocean littorals.

Continue reading “Remembering Indian Navy’s Humanitarian Intervention: Tsunami 2004” →