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| India-Pakistan |
| Submarine collision: found guilty, Indian Navy Commander quits |
| 2008-08-11 |
| New Delhi, August 11: The Commander of a Navy Submarine that was involved in an accident with a merchant ship in the Arabian Sea in January has quit the service after a Board of Inquiry held him responsible for the incident. Naval Commander Narendra Kumar, who was the Commanding Officer of the Russian origin Kilo Class Submarine INS Sindhughosh when it brushed against a massive cargo ship during a routine exercise off the Gujarat coast, put in his papers last month. Sources in the Navy said the officer, who was posted to administrative duties in Delhi after the incident, decided to quit the Navy rather than face a Court Martial where he was set to be dismissed from service. The Board of Inquiry, which was set up immediately after the incident, concluded that as Commander of the submarine, Kumar could not escape responsibility for the accident that caused damage to the fins, periscope and aerials of the naval vessel. Sources indicated that the second in command of the submarine would also put in his papers, taking responsibility for the failure. A major tragedy was averted on January 17 when one of the most advanced submarines of the Navy collided with a foreign merchant ship, MV Leeds, in the Arabian sea during a training exercise. The diesel powered submarine brushed aside the massive cargo ship as it was trying to surface in shallow waters during the Western Fleet war games. All 53 crew members on board escaped unhurt but the submarine suffered damage and will remain out of service for several months. As it was taking part in a simulated wargame where it had to evade the 'enemy' in 'restricted waters', the submarine had switched off sonar and its radar was not transmitting any signals. While the vessel performed a periscope scan before proceeding to surface, its commander failed to detect the merchant ship. "The submarine was operating at a precarious depth and could not dive to escape due to the restricted waters," a Navy officer had then said. The merchant ship, that wasn't damaged in the incident, was not found at fault as it was operating as per the rules of the sea. |
| Posted by:john frum |