Indian arm of US company wins Sindhurakshak salvage bid - The Times of India
V Narayan,TNN | Feb 13, 2014, 06.02 AM IST
MUMBAI: Resolve India, a subsidiary of the US-based Resolve Marine Group, has won the bid to salvage the 16-year-old submarine, INS Sindhurakshak, which sank at the naval dockyard on August 14 last year following a series of explosions in its forward portions, killing three officers and 15 sailors on board. The contract was signed by the Indian Navy on January 31. Sources said the bid amount quoted for the salvage operations was below Rs 240 crore. India bought INS Sindhurakshak in 1997 for $113 million and upgraded it later for $156 million or around Rs 800 crore.
Resource mobilization for salvage operations started in the first week of February. The company has to bring its "salvage masters and dive support teams" as well as heavy-duty equipment to the mishap site within 45 days. The actual salvaging could take another three to four months. "The salvage operation for the sunken submarine is estimated approximately below Rs 250 crore. It will also take a while to complete the entire exercise as 90% of the ordnance on the vessel is still intact" a source said.
Meanwhile, the dredging work to increase the depth of the seabed where the submarine sunk commenced last December . "The current depth of the seabed where the sub sunk is approximately five-feet that will increase by another eight-feet once dredging is complete so that the vessel to carry out the salvage operations can sail in," said a defence spokesperson.
The final report in the sub explosion is yet to be prepared. "Once the sub is lifted out of water , the board of inquiry committee will conduct the chemical analysis to ascertain the cause for the explosion after which the final report will be prepared," the official added. Preliminary probe indicated it was "an accident or inadvertent mishandling of ammunition" that caused things to spiral out of control with some missile and torpedo warheads exploding in "sympathetic detonation".
V Narayan,TNN | Feb 13, 2014, 06.02 AM IST
MUMBAI: Resolve India, a subsidiary of the US-based Resolve Marine Group, has won the bid to salvage the 16-year-old submarine, INS Sindhurakshak, which sank at the naval dockyard on August 14 last year following a series of explosions in its forward portions, killing three officers and 15 sailors on board. The contract was signed by the Indian Navy on January 31. Sources said the bid amount quoted for the salvage operations was below Rs 240 crore. India bought INS Sindhurakshak in 1997 for $113 million and upgraded it later for $156 million or around Rs 800 crore.
Resource mobilization for salvage operations started in the first week of February. The company has to bring its "salvage masters and dive support teams" as well as heavy-duty equipment to the mishap site within 45 days. The actual salvaging could take another three to four months. "The salvage operation for the sunken submarine is estimated approximately below Rs 250 crore. It will also take a while to complete the entire exercise as 90% of the ordnance on the vessel is still intact" a source said.
Meanwhile, the dredging work to increase the depth of the seabed where the submarine sunk commenced last December . "The current depth of the seabed where the sub sunk is approximately five-feet that will increase by another eight-feet once dredging is complete so that the vessel to carry out the salvage operations can sail in," said a defence spokesperson.
The final report in the sub explosion is yet to be prepared. "Once the sub is lifted out of water , the board of inquiry committee will conduct the chemical analysis to ascertain the cause for the explosion after which the final report will be prepared," the official added. Preliminary probe indicated it was "an accident or inadvertent mishandling of ammunition" that caused things to spiral out of control with some missile and torpedo warheads exploding in "sympathetic detonation".
