Indian Navy's safety record tarnished

The first accident was written off as an aberration. The second one could have been ignored as a coincidence. The third one, however, should have raised eyebrows and when followed by a fourth, the incidents undoubtedly point to a worrying trend. Earlier this week when a fishing trawler sank after colliding with the Navy's frontline frigate, INS Talwar, near Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, injuring four of the 27 persons onboard, it marked the fourth accident involving a naval warship this year alone. On December 4, the minesweeper, INS Konkan, caught fire when it was in the dry dock for maintenance in Visakhapatnam. Prior to that in September, a fire broke out on INS Viraat, India’s much-touted aircraft carrier, off the coast of Mumbai. And then of course, there was the huge explosion in the torpedo section of INS Sindhurakshak that sunk the warship in the Mumbai naval harbour, killing all 18 personnel on board on August 14. Four accidents in as many months should be enough cause for serious introspection at the naval headquarters. On Navy Day earlier this month, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi sought to defend the Indian Navy's safety record as one that was “not all that bad” when compared to other navies of the world. The fact that this is a lame excuse notwithstanding, it still does not account for the sudden and meteoric rise in the number of the naval accidents in recent times. Apart from the four that have tarnished the Navy's record since August this year, there was a major accident in 2011 as well — INS Vindhyagiri sank following a collision with a merchant navy vessel at the entrance of the Mumbai harbour that caused the hull of the warship to crack and sparked a major fire that took 15 hours to control. A year later, the ship had to be destroyed after the weapons to was carrying could not be retrieved. Before that in 2006, INS Prahar similarly sank off the Goa coast after colliding with the container ship MV Rajiv Gandhi. The commanding officer of the ship was later found guilty of negligence and dismissed from service.

Against this backdrop of deteriorating safety standards, the India Navy must be prepared to answer some tough questions. Already, there is some talk of standard operating procedures not being adequately followed. This deserves some introspection. Similarly, Defence Minister AK Antony's advice, given in the aftermath of the INS Sindhurakshak accident, to top naval commanders to train their personnel suitably so that national resources “are not frittered away” must be taken seriously. As for the incident involving INS Talwar, it is hoped that the Navy will investigate the matter properly and not just blame it on the fishing boat. While the latter's owner and captain have been rightly arrested for sailing unlawfully in the darkness without proper night operating gear, it is inconceivable that a 21st century war ship did not have the capabilities to spot a fishing boat.

via The Pioneer

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