Visakhapatnam: Defence minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday commissioned the first indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette INS Kamorta at an impressive ceremony held at the Naval Dockyard here in Vizag.
Arun Jaitely was received on arrival at the Naval Jetty by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral RK Dhowan. Jaitley was presented a Guard and introduced to the dignitaries present for commissioning ceremony thereafter.
Addressing the gathering, Arun Jaitely congratulated the Indian Navy, the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, (GRSE), other Indian PSUs and a host of small scale industries, which have contributed towards building this fine ship. He said that the Induction of INS Kamorta adds thrust to the Nation’s ongoing endeavours at indigenization with Indian Navy being the forerunner. He later unveiled the commissioning Plaque and dedicated the ship to the nation.
INS Kamorta is first of the four ASW Stealth Corvettes designed by the Navy’s in-house organisation, the Directorate of Naval Design (DND), under Project 28, with an indigenous component of about 90pc.
Measuring 110 meters in length, 14 meters in breadth and displacing 3500 tons, the ship can achieve speed of 25 Knots. The ship is fitted with Anti-submarine Rockets and Torpedoes, Medium and Close-in Weapon Systems and indigenous surveillance radar Revathi. The ship is also capable of carrying an integral ASW helicopter.
Earlier GRSE, Kolkata, CMD, Rear Admiral AK Verma and the Chief of the Naval Staff, RK Dhowan, spoke which was followed by reading out of the Commissioning Warrant of the Ship by Commanding Officer, Commander Manoj Jha. Subsequently, hoisting of the Naval Ensign onboard for the first time and ‘Breaking of the Commissioning Pennanta’ with the National Anthem being played marked the completion of the Commissioning Ceremony.
The commissioning of INS Kamorta has added a new dimension to the ASW capability of the Indian Navy and in particular, the Eastern Fleet. The multifarious missions that can be undertaken by the ship truly reflect the enhanced multi-dimensional capability of the Indian Navy.
Eastern Naval Command (ENC), commander in chief vice admiral Satish Soni, was also present during the commissioning ceremony.
Vizag: Def Min Arun Jaitley commissions India's first indigenously-built stealth anti-submarine warfare INS Kamorta pic.twitter.com/zn8Bb9kui1
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 23, 2014
