Navy vows strict action against personnel for INS Betwa incident

NEW DELHI: With a board of inquiry (BoI) being constituted under a Rear Admiral to look into guided-missile frigate INS Betwa's accident at the Mumbai naval dockyard on Monday, the Navy has vowed to take strict action against any personnel found guilty of lapses for the unprecedented incident.

Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba briefed defence minister Manohar Parrikar about the accident, in which two sailors were killed and 14 other personnel injured, here on Tuesday after taking stock of the situation during his visit to the naval dockyard in Mumbai.

"Headed by Rear Admiral Deepak Bali, who is the flag officer offshore defence advisory group (FODAG) at Mumbai, the BoI will examine the circumstances in which the mishap took place. The Navy will salvage the frigate, make her upright and battle-ready to re-join the fleet as soon as possible," said Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma.

Salvage professionals from around the country as well as abroad will soon be arriving in Mumbai to assess the damage to the 3,850-tonne Brahmaputra-class frigate, which had "slipped from her dock blocks", tilted and then crashed flat on her left (port) side during undocking at 1.50 pm on Monday.

Though the BoI will establish the exact reason for the mishap, officers say it could have happened because of the failure of the "dock block mechanism" or miscalculation of the "load distribution equilibrium" required in the complex and delicate undocking procedure, as was reported by TOI.

The role of the dock-master and other officers from the "naval constructors" wing as well as the frigate's captain and crew will be examined by the BoI.

"The Navy has taken a very serious view of the incident, and those found guilty will be held accountable.Such a mishap, which left the frigate heavily damaged with at least 25 per cent flooding in its compartments, has never been witnessed in India before," said an officer.

INS Betwa, which was commissioned in July 2004, had begun a two-year medium maintenance refit at the dockyard in April this year.Following the completion of the “underwater repair package“, it was being undocked for further repairs when the incident occurred.