Indian Navy's fleet was hit by yet another blot on Sunday after a fire broke out on Indian Naval Ship (INS) Matanga at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
The incident took place around 3pm while INS Matanga (an ocean going tug) was undergoing repairs at the dry dock. "The private firm working on board was carrying out steel welding in the Sewage Treatment Plant compartment when insulating material in the adjacent compartment started smoldering and emitting thick smoke. It was promptly detected by the duty personnel on site and the situation was brought under control by the ships staff with assistance from Naval Dockyard fire station," read a statement issued by the naval authorities.
According to a navy officer, the fire was of minor nature and there was not damage. However, an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
The series of mishaps related to maritime assets is not coming to an end. Due to the never ending incidents on the vessels of the Indian Navy, Admiral DK Joshi had resigned from his position as Chief of Naval Staff. He had resigned on February 26 this year when two sailors lost their lives and seven others had to be evacuated due to a fire incident.
List of mishaps involving Naval and Coast Guard vessels:
INS Khukri (December 9, 1971) – INS Khukri torpedoed and sunk by Pakistani submarine Hangor. (The only wartime related incident)
INS Andaman (August 20, 1990) – Leakage in the vessel takes down warship and 15 crewmen in the Bay of Bengal. Anti-submarine warfare exercise was underway.
INS Jyoti (March 28, 1998) – Four workers killed in a gas explosion during repairs at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
INS Jyoti (November, 1999) – A merchant vessel and INS Jyoti, a fleet tanker, collided in the Bay of Bengal.
INS Trishul (December 27, 2005) – INS trishul and MV Ambuja Laxmi collided near Mumbai.
INS Magar (February 22, 2006) – Fire reported off Visakhapatnam coast.
INS Prahar (April 21, 2006) – Missile Corvette collided with MV Rajiv Gandhi off Goa's coast.
INS Sindhughosh (January 7, 2008) – Submarine collided with MV Leeds Castle off Mumbai's coast.
INS Jalashwa (February 1, 2008) – Explosion onboard INS Jalashwa killed five sailors during a naval exercise at Bay of Bengal.
INS Sindhurakshak (February 26, 2010) – Sailor killed in an incident at Vizag.
ICGS Vivek (March 23, 2010) – Coast Guard ship undergoing repairs inside Indira Docks of Mumbai Port Trust sank after MV Global Purity rammed into ICGS Vivek.
INS Sindhuratna & INS Sindhukesri (June 28, 2010) – Two Kilo class submarines collides with each other inside Mumbai's Naval Dockyard while berthing.
INS Sindhurakshak (August 30, 2010) – Explosion in the battery compartment 60 nautical miles off Mumbai's coast resulted in two sailors losing their life and another two getting injured.
INS Vindhyagiri (January 30, 2011) – INS Vindhyagiri collides with MV Nordlake and catches fire the next day inside the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. It sank while the flames were being doused.
INS Sindhurakshak (August 14, 2013) - Eighteen crew members on board - three officers and 15 sailors - were killed when blasts ripped through the torpedo compartment of the INS Sindhurakshak while the submarine was berthed in Mumbai harbour.
INS Viraat (September 2013) - Fire broke out near the officer's mess of the aircraftcarrier off the Mumbai coast. No casualties were reported.
INS Konkan (December 4, 2013) - A minesweeper of the Eastern Naval Command, the vessel caught fire at the naval dockyard at Visakhapatnam while undergoing repairs. The fire engulfed much of the ship's interiors before it doused. No deaths were reported.
INS Talwar (December 23, 2013) - A fishing trawler sank after colliding with the frontline frigate near Ratnagiri district, injuring four of the 27 people aboard the trawler. The trawler was operating without lights. There were no causalties onboard the ship.
INS Tarkash (December 2013) - A stealth frigate which conducted several overseas missions, INS Tarkash suffered damage to its hull when it hit the jetty while docking at the Mumbai. There were no casualties.
INS Betwa (January 22, 2014) - The indigenously built frigate ran aground and collided with an unidentified object while approaching the Mumbai harbour. The frigate's sonar system was found to be cracked, leading to faulty readings and ingress of saltwater into sensitive equipment.
INS Vipul (January 2014) Deployed with the elite 22nd Killer Missile Vessel Squadron, a hole was detected in a compartment, forced it back into the harbour while it was on an operational mission. It had to be sent for repairs.
INS Sindhughosh (January 2014) - The leading ship of her class of diesel-electric submarines, the Sindhughosh ran aground at the naval harbour in Mumbai. The submarine was re-floated and did not suffer much damage. At the time of the incident, it was fully armed, carrying its entire compliment of 70 personnel, all of whom were safe.
INS Airavat (February 3, 2014) - Amphibious ship INS Airavat, the latest of the Shardul class of tank-landing ships, ran aground off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The propellers of the warship were permanently damaged and had to be replaced for the vessel to become operational again.
INS Sindhuratna (February 26, 2014) - Two sailors died and seven members of the 94-strong crew were evacuated after inhaling smoke aboard the diesel-powered submarine following a fire. A board of inquiry in its preliminary report, said that fire in some cables led to the smoke in the third compartment.
INS Kolkata / Yard 701 (March 7, 2014) - An officer was killed and a worker injured after inhaling carbon dioxide gas which leaked from a container in the advanced warship at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Limited.
INS Matanga (April 6, 2014) – Fire breaks out while repair work underway at the dry dock of Naval Dockyard.
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