INS Kolkata

INS Kolkata
History
India
NameKolkata
NamesakeKolkata
BuilderMazagon Dock Limited
Yard number701
Way numberD63
Laid downSeptember 2003
Launched30 March 2006
Acquired10 July 2014
Commissioned16 August 2014[1]
HomeportMumbai
Identification
Motto"Yudhay Sarvasannadh"(Sanskrit)"Always Prepared for Battle"[2]
Statusin active service
BadgeINS Kolkata crest
General characteristics
Class and typeKolkata-class destroyer
Displacement7,500 t (7,400 long tons; 8,300 short tons) full load[3][4][5]
Length163 m (535 ft)[6]
Beam17.4 m (57 ft)[6]
SpeedIn excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi)+
Complement300 (estd)
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × Sea King or HAL Dhruv helicopters
Aviation facilitiesDual Enclosed hangar

INS Kolkata is the lead ship of the Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. Named after the Indian city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), she was constructed at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and was handed over to the navy on 10 July 2014 after completing her sea trials. The ship was officially commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a ceremony held on 16 August 2014.[1][2]

Construction

The keel of Kolkata was laid down in September 2003 and she was launched on 30 March 2006.[6] Her commissioning was originally planned for 2010, but this was delayed to 16 August 2014 as a result of a series of project delays.[11][12] During her construction at MDL, she was given the designation Yard-701.[13]

Sea trials

The commissioning of Kolkata was delayed from 2010 to 2014 due to delays in her construction and technical problems which were found during her sea trials. The issue detected was the generation of additional noise, which occurred when the engine, gearbox and shaft were operated together, but which worked issue-free when run independently. The issues were fixed and the sea trials were completed by February 2014, when the ship returned to MDL to undergo minor work before delivery.[13][14][15]

2014 carbon dioxide leak

On 7 March 2014, during a complete check-up of the ship's machinery to fix the problems found during sea trials,[13] a naval officer was killed and several workers were injured when a valve on a CO2 bottle malfunctioned during a test of the vessel's carbon dioxide fire-fighting unit at the Mazagaon dockyard. For the test, fire-retarding carbon dioxide gas was to be released into a compartment; the test was part of the destroyer's delivery trials. Kolkata's engineering officer-designate, Commander Kuntal Wadhwa, inhaled a large amount of gas and was rushed to St George's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two dockyard officials who also inhaled the gas were also taken to hospital for treatment.[16][17][18] MDL stated that the incident will not delay the scheduled commissioning of the ship.[13]

Weapon trials

INS Kolkata firing a Long Range Surface to Air Missile

As part of her pre-commissioning weapon trials at sea, Kolkata test-fired a BrahMos missile off Karwar's coast on 9 June 2014, and the test met all parameters.[19][20] On 15 February 2015, a BrahMos missile was test fired from INS Kolkata during the Tropex exercise in the Arabian Sea.[21][22]

On 29 December 2015 and 30 December 2015 the Indian Navy successfully test-fired the Barak 8 missile from INS Kolkata.[23][24] Two missiles were fired at high speed targets, during naval exercises being undertaken in the Arabian Sea.[25][26]

Service history

In December 2023, INS Kolkata was deployed to the Arabian Sea along with INS Kochi and INS Mormugao to protect commercial shipping after an attack on a tanker transporting oil from Saudi Arabia to Mangalore.[27]

Deployment Date Port Visited Commander Notes and References
2016
East Africa and the Southern Indian Ocean with frigate INS Trikand and fleet tanker INS Aditya 28-30 August Port Victoria, Seychelles Captain Rahul Vilas Gokhale[28] Enhance defence ties with the Seychelles People Defense Forces[29][30]
1-4 September Port Louis, Mauritius [31][32][33]
10-13 September Mombasa, Kenya [34][35]
20-23 September Durban, South Africa [36][37]

2023-24 Anti-piracy patrols

Against the backdrop of the increasing attacks on commercial ships transiting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea by the end of ther 2023 , the Indian Navy on December 31 2023 said it had substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts in Central and North Arabian Sea and “augmented force levels” by primerly deploying the P-8I Neptune MPA and the SeaGuardian drones .[38] Following two merchant vessels, including MV Ruen and MV Chem Pluto which were targeted in the sea. MV Ruen was hijacked and currently, she is docked off the Somalia coast with the INS Kochi trailing her while MV Chem Pluto sustained drone hits eventually and making way to port , The Indian Navy deployed a large flotilla of destroyers to safeguard international security . The deployment into the Arabian Sea includes Navy’s missile destroyers, including INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, INS Mormugao, INS Chennai and INS Visakhapatnam[39] , virtually all of its modern destroyer force of its western fleet.The INS Kolkata is deployed on the mouth of the Red Sea, INS Kochi on the south of Yemen's Socotra Island, INS Mormugao in the west Arabian Sea with INS Chennai in the central Arabian Sea.

INS Visakhapatnam was also moved in a week later and was tasked to patrol the north Arabian Se[40]a.


See also

References

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  2. ^ a b "Prime Minister Commissions INS Kolkata". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  3. ^ "INS Kolkata". indiannavy.nic.in. Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Navy gets its largest destroyer". The Hindu. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Largest destroyer project of Navy hit by delay". Defence Express. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Rasquinha, Reagan Gavin (1 April 2006), "Queen of the high seas", Times of India
  7. ^ a b "Country's most potent indigenous warship joins service this month". SP's Naval Forces. 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Bharat Electronics Ltd. awards LW08 contract to Thales". Thalesgroup.com. 2 July 2008. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
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  11. ^ Pandit, Rajat (6 November 2007), "Navy hit by delay of big-ticket projects", The Times of India, archived from the original on 18 October 2012
  12. ^ Bhatt, Arunkumar (1 April 2006), "A lethal combination of stealth and strength", The Hindu, archived from the original on 9 April 2006
  13. ^ a b c d "Peculiar problems were dogging warship INS Kolkata". The Times of India. TNN. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Navy's ongoing hunt for heavy torpedoes leads to delay in modernisation process". India Today. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  15. ^ "New details, pictures on Indian Navy's Future Kolkata class Destroyer". navyrecognition.com. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  16. ^ Baruah, Amit; Rajput, Rashmi (7 March 2014). "Navy hit by another accident; officer dead". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Navy hit again, officer dies in mishap on INS Kolkata - Hindustan Times". www.hindustantimes.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014.
  18. ^ "One Naval Officer killed in INS Kolkata Gas Leak Accident". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  19. ^ "BrahMos missile test-fired from warship INS Kolkata". The Times of India. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  20. ^ "India-Russia Missile Successfully Test Fired from Indian Warship". RIA Novosti. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
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  26. ^ "Proud Moment. Indian Navy Tests The Most Formidable Missile In Its Arsenal". indiatimes.com. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  27. ^ "India deploys three warships to Arabian Sea after attack on tanker". BBC News. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Indian Warships visit Port Louis, Mauritius | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  29. ^ "Indian Warships Visit Port Victoria". Marine Link. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  30. ^ "Eturbonews".
  31. ^ "Indian warships visit Port Louis, Mauritius". en.portnews.ru. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  32. ^ Standard, Business (10 September 2016). "VISIT OF INDIAN WARSHIPS TO MOMBASA KENYA 10 13 SEPTEMBER 2016". Business Standard India. Retrieved 11 September 2016. {cite news}: |first= has generic name (help)
  33. ^ "Indian Warships visit Port Louis, Mauritius | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  34. ^ "Indian warships reach Mombasa, Kenya on visit | NetIndian". netindian.in. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  35. ^ "Visit of Indian Warships to Mombasa, Kenya | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  36. ^ "Western Fleet Ships visit South Africa (20 - 23 September 2016)". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  37. ^ "Western Naval Fleet ships arrive in South Africa | ANI News". www.aninews.in. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  38. ^ Peri, Dinakar (31 December 2023). "Attacks on ships: Indian Navy enhances surveillance in Arabian Sea". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  39. ^ "Indian Navy deploys warships and surveillance aircraft to enhance maritime security - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  40. ^ "Indian Navy deploys warships and surveillance aircraft to enhance maritime security - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.