Vice Admiral Pradeep K Chatterjee appointed as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff

NEW DELHI: Vice Admiral Pradeep K Chatterjee, a veteran submariner, was today appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DCNS) succeeding Vice Admiral Satish Soni who will now move to head the Kochi-based Southern Naval Command.

Commissioned into the submarine arm of Navy in January 1977, Chatterjee has commanded Shishumar class submarines such as the INS Shankush and Shankul.

His ship command include the training vessel INS Krishna and guided missile destroyer INS Rajput.

Chatterjee's appointment has come at a time when the Indian Navy has inducted nuclear attack submarine INS Chakra and is in the process of inducting the indigenously built nuclear submarine INS Arihant, Navy officials said.

He has also held various staff appointments including Commodore Commanding Submarine (West), Principle Director Submarine Operation and Principal Director Submarine Acquisition (PDSMAQ) at the Naval Headquarters.

"In the Flag rank, he has held the posts of Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM) at Visakhapatnam, Flag Officer Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) at Mumbai, and Inspector General Nuclear Safety (IGNS) at Naval Headquarters," said the officials.

Chatterjee is an alumnus of the Defence Service Staff College at Wellington, the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and the National Defence College here.