Lucky escape for more than 80 sailors and officers; pressurised double-hull of submarines and low speed prevent major damage
More than 80 sailors and officers had a providential escape when two Kilo-class 877EKM attack submarines collided as one of the two approached the naval dockyard early this week.
INS Sindhuratna and INS Sindhukesri, measuring about 70 metres, collided when they were alongside each other while entering the narrow gateway to the naval dockyard, said sources.
Both vessels were lucky to survive the hit as the pressurised double-hull was able to absorb most of the impact, but the rudder of one of submarines was damaged.
At the time, one submarine was docked, while the other was being towed alongside it. The damage was minimal because of the low speed.
The Kilo-class 877EKM attack submarine is capable of touching 11 knots on the surface and 20 knots underwater.
It is still not clear whether the accident was due to human error or bad weather. Prima facie, the mishap has been attributed to an error of judgement.
High-level inquiry
The navy ordered a high-level inquiry into the mishap, but remained tight-lipped about the incident.
Naval spokesperson Capt Manoharan Nambiar said he was on leave and had no information on the incident. His deputy, A Vispute, did not respond to an SMS yesterday.
The Kilo-class attack submarines were returning to the harbour after a reconnaissance and patrol mission off the city harbour when the collision occurred.
Both 2,300-odd-tonne vessels have low noise levels, which could be one of the reasons why they got too close to each other without anybody noticing.
INS Sindhuratna was the second Indian naval submarine to be fitted with four ZM-54E1 missiles with a range of 300 km. It has hull-mounted medium frequency digital sonar.
This is first time two Kilo-class attack submarines have collided at the naval dock.
Submarines kiss at Naval Dockyard
More than 80 sailors and officers had a providential escape when two Kilo-class 877EKM attack submarines collided as one of the two approached the naval dockyard early this week.
INS Sindhuratna and INS Sindhukesri, measuring about 70 metres, collided when they were alongside each other while entering the narrow gateway to the naval dockyard, said sources.
Both vessels were lucky to survive the hit as the pressurised double-hull was able to absorb most of the impact, but the rudder of one of submarines was damaged.
At the time, one submarine was docked, while the other was being towed alongside it. The damage was minimal because of the low speed.
The Kilo-class 877EKM attack submarine is capable of touching 11 knots on the surface and 20 knots underwater.
It is still not clear whether the accident was due to human error or bad weather. Prima facie, the mishap has been attributed to an error of judgement.
High-level inquiry
The navy ordered a high-level inquiry into the mishap, but remained tight-lipped about the incident.
Naval spokesperson Capt Manoharan Nambiar said he was on leave and had no information on the incident. His deputy, A Vispute, did not respond to an SMS yesterday.
The Kilo-class attack submarines were returning to the harbour after a reconnaissance and patrol mission off the city harbour when the collision occurred.
Both 2,300-odd-tonne vessels have low noise levels, which could be one of the reasons why they got too close to each other without anybody noticing.
INS Sindhuratna was the second Indian naval submarine to be fitted with four ZM-54E1 missiles with a range of 300 km. It has hull-mounted medium frequency digital sonar.
This is first time two Kilo-class attack submarines have collided at the naval dock.
Submarines kiss at Naval Dockyard
