New Delhi: The Navy is in search of international salvage experts to recover the INS Brahmaputra, which was significantly damaged in a large fire on July 21.
The vessel caught fire while undergoing refurbishment at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard and listed heavily to the port side.
The INS Brahmaputra incurred substantial damage, resulting in water accumulation during the firefighting efforts that commenced immediately after the incident.
The tragedy also claimed the life of a young sailor. The 24-year-old INS Brahmaputra, previously active in significant missions with the Western Fleet, was nearing the end of its refit to return to service.
A board of inquiry led by a two-star Naval officer has been convened to determine the fire’s origin, and the Navy has begun salvage operations to reactivate the ship.
According to Navy sources speaking to India Today TV, assessing the damage and restoring full operational capability to INS Brahmaputra could take from six months to over a year.
The procedure for righting the ship and evaluating the damage is expected to last approximately two to three months. This timeline indicates that the Navy may face a wait of over a year to fully operationalize INS Brahmaputra.
Specialized foreign agencies are being consulted by the Navy to appraise the losses on INS Brahmaputra. The Western Naval Command is in charge of the entire process of returning this principal warship to service.
INS Betwa and INS Beas, the other two vessels of the Brahmaputra class, are among the Indian Navy’s 120-ship fleet.
Two days post the fire, on July 23, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi visited Mumbai. He examined the events leading up to the mishap and received updates on the recovery and repair strategy to promptly restore the ship’s functionality.
He instructed the Command and Naval Headquarters to expedite all measures to recommission INS Brahmaputra.
