INS Sindhurakshak catches fire at naval dockyard in Mumbai

[vishwaprasad]

deleted...

 

[vishwaprasad]

Submarine's twin hulls contained fire, reduced losses

The Mumbai dock is one of the most congested areas where warships are placed. The large number of ships and submarines in a small place make it very vulnerable to accidents. There is perhaps no other place in the world where warships are docked so close to each other



Submarine's twin hulls contained fire, reduced losses - Indian Express

If we don't address this issue quickly then in future we will be the next to experience a next "Pearl Harbor"

 

[Dinesh_Kumar]

Thanks for your bullshit advice............

Any more gems like this, your lordship?

Indian should not blame this and that. You should know how to test them before use and know how to integrate different equipments from different countries and keep system safety

 

[TrueSpirit]

Lt. Cmdr. Alok Sahu, one of my room-mates in 1995-96, was trapped in there. He handled signal communications in the sub.

Now, that they are officially confirmed dead, the family is inconsolable. He had two brothers. Not sure, if he had kids.

 

[kaustav2001]

I had once heard that our HDW class subs have detachable capsules which is helpful for crew to come on the surface if submarine is met with accident and stuck in deep waters....I just want to know if this kind of capsules are there in our kilos as well....

Our HDW indeed have an escape capsule but Kilos do not. On the other hand, HDW subs are single hull whereas Kilos are twin hulled which apparently restricted/ contained most of the damage from the explosions & ordinance to the sub itself & thereby preventing a more catastrophic loss of equipment (sindhuratna & other ships docked) & the naval facility itself.

 

[SajeevJino]

Russian Experts to Help India in Submarine Sinking Probe​

A team of Russian naval engineering specialists will take part in an investigation to find out why a Russian-built Indian navy submarine blew up and sank in harbor on Wednesday, killing 18 crew members, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Friday.

The boat, INS Sindhurakshak, a Kilo-class (Project 877 EKM) diesel-electric powered vessel, sank at its moorings in the port of Mumbai after a fire triggered the explosion of at least two torpedoes or missiles on board, in a blast that lit up the city's waterfront. A handful of sailors jumped off the boat and survived, local media reported.

"I have instructed the United Shipbuilding Corporation to send more specialists in agreement with the Indian side, to take part in the investigation of the tragedy and to provide all assistance necessary to our Indian friends," said Rogozin, who oversees the Russian defense industry.

The Indian Navy is likely to request Russian assistance, India's DNA newspaper reported, citing naval sources.

The Russian specialists do not see technical failure as the likely cause of the incident, Rogozin said.

"The initial information "¦ is that the explosion occurred in the compartment where the batteries were charging,'" he said. "This is the most dangerous work, which is not so much to do with the makers of these batteries, but with technical safety measures, which must be at the highest level. So the first suspicions of our experts are about questions of technical safety standards. We aren't blaming the equipment yet," he added.

Russian experts have not yet been to the scene of the accident, where Indian Navy divers are still working to try to recover the bodies of those who died. The divers recovered three bodies Friday from among the 18 crew believed to have been on board, The Times of India reported.

"Three bodies have been recovered from the submarine by our divers but their identity has not yet been ascertained," a Navy spokesman in Mumbai said, the paper reported. DNA tests will be conducted to identify the bodies.

The chief of the Indian Navy, Admiral D. K. Joshi, said there is little chance of finding any survivors in the boat. Rescue divers reported severe damage to the vessel, consistent with an on-board fire and explosions, the Deccan Herald reported.

Indian media reports said the Navy was unlikely to be able to raise the 2,300-ton boat by itself and would probably use a Singaporean salvage company to bring it up.

The Sindhurakshak suffered a fatal fire in 2010 that killed a crewman. An Indian Navy investigation said that incident was caused by a defective battery, the Hindustan Times reported.

The boat was refitted by Russia's Zvezdochka shipyard after that fire, and only returned to service in January.

The boat had sailed 15,000 miles after the refit and the Indians "had not expressed any complaints about the submarine's condition" afterward, Rogozin said.

Diesel-electric boats like the Kilo-class use their diesel engines to run on the surface, and charge huge batteries to power electric motors for silent running below the surface.

Gases can be discharged during the charging process, including inflammable hydrogen, which must be safely ventilated to prevent fire.

Russian Experts to Help India in Submarine Sinking Probe | Defense | RIA Novosti

 

[Energon]

Lt. Cmdr. Alok Sahu, one of my room-mates in 1995-96, was trapped in there. He handled signal communications in the sub.

Now, that they are officially confirmed dead, the family is inconsolable. He had two brothers. Not sure, if he had kids.

That's unbelievably tragic. I'm so sorry for your loss and that of the family. I've had many roommates over the years and honestly I think I'd flip a $hit if anything happened to any one of them... again, so sorry for the loss from this horrible tragedy.

 

[Singh]

Lt. Cmdr. Alok Sahu, one of my room-mates in 1995-96, was trapped in there. He handled signal communications in the sub.

Now, that they are officially confirmed dead, the family is inconsolable. He had two brothers. Not sure, if he had kids.

So Sorry to hear this. Please pass on our condolences to the bereaved family.

 

[Energon]

Any time one looks back upon a tragic incident the analysis tends to be skewed, that's just human nature; and this is probably the case with what I'm saying here as well.
I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like any time there are large scale incidents of this sort in India it involves a barrage of systemic failures. In this case it wasn't just the inability to take proper precautions against a previously identified serious problem (by investing in the proper technology) but also the general set up of the crowded dock, the lack of appropriate emergency response teams etc.

I doubt the media and public frenzy will explore issues that go beyond the dramatic incident itself and that's sad because the real issues are far more widespread. This incident isn't merely just a navy issue, it all comes down to a stunted industrial capacity of the nation at large. Unless industrial capacity is fostered and expanded all major engineering tasks from building safer railway lines, safer roads (where buses filled with children aren't falling off every other week), sturdy bridges, ports, secluded submarine bases and all other critical infrastructure projects become untenable. Obviously every developing nation wants this... but it's all the more ridiculous for a country like India which unlike the rest of the developing world already has all the components (academic institutions that can produce skilled workers, humongous labor pool etc.) required to embark upon an industrial revolution. I simply fail to understand why there isn't a more widespread debate about this.

 

[sayareakd]

I think this is the first pic of incident @Kunal Biswas

salute to brave men of Indian navy, despite the fact that second submarine was on fire, they quickly took it away, risking their lives.

 

[honeybadger]

@Energon ... I will blame on complete lack of any health and safety culture in India. People just dont care. Simply look at number of accidents and deaths on road. Its a staggering number.

 

[sayareakd]

 

[Energon]

@Energon ... I will blame on complete lack of any health and safety culture in India. People just dont care. Simply look at number of accidents and deaths on road. Its a staggering number.

You're absolutely right. The concept of health and safety is alarmingly deficient in Indian society and I have always found this very, very disturbing.

I haven't looked at any solid data on this matter so anything I say henceforth is speculation. When it comes to the military, police force and other high risk occupations under governmental control I feel as if these institutions are still running on the colonial models. Colonial armed forces had a skewed social structure. The small upper echelon of colonial officers were coddled while remainder of the force comprised of locals was considered dispensable. The military as a whole was well trained and extremely professional but the concept of safety was virtually non existent. It seems like there are still remnants of such views in the Indian establishment.

 

[centrinoe]

May the sailors rest in peace.

Accidents are soldiers worst enemy during peace time...

 

[sayareakd]

Thiruvananthapuram: The Naval submarine tragedy in Mumbai has brought gloom to three villages of Kerala as three of the 18 crew feared dead hailed from there including one who got married just two months ago.

Sailor Liju Lawrence of Vazhikel village, about 50 kms from here, got married only on June 5 last. He had come on a five-day leave for the marriage, family sources said.

Relatives of Lawrence, who had joined the Navy ten years ago, had immediately left for Mumbai on hearing the news of the mishap, the sources added. Meanwhile, residents of Pallipad village in Allapuzha district are yet to reconcile with the tragedy as their brave boy, Vishnu V (21), is among those feared dead.

Vishnu, son of a farmer Visambaaran, joined the Navy when he was studying B.Sc Chemistry at a local college. He was moved to the ill-fated submarine four months ago, family sources said.

"One of the associates of Vishnu first informed the family about the mishap," they said. Vishnu had come home on leave in May last.

Vishnu's father and one of his relative have gone to Mumbai, sources added. According to reports, sailor Vikas hails from Thalassery in Kannur District.

The Submarine INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank at the Mumbai dockyard early Wednesday.

INS Sindhurakshak tragedy: Pall of gloom on three Kerala villages - Firstpost

RIP brothers.................

 

[redragon]

the first sub sunk by missile launched by a sub in human history

=================

Ban handed

 

[sayareakd]

have you seen it launch a missile ?

Chini logic........

 

[sayareakd]

INS Sindhurakshak: Navy sticks to 'accident' story behind submarine disaster
Rajat Pandit, TNN | Aug 17, 2013, 02.17 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Preliminary assessments show "a plain and simple accident" in the "fully-loaded" weapons compartment of INS Sindhurakshak, which caused "sympathetic detonation" of some missile and torpedo warheads, probably led to the sinking of the Kilo-class submarine in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Though holding that the board of inquiry (BoI) headed by senior submariner Commodore Deepak Bhist will pinpoint the reason, top naval sources on Friday virtually ruled out hydrogen gas leakage, "a major material failure", or sabotage being responsible for the disaster.

This then leaves "mishandling of ammunition" as the most plausible reason for the massive explosions that even "ejected" a Klub-S cruise missile out of the vessel. Asked about this, the sources said even if "mishandling" was the case, it was "more of an accident" rather than "lack of training or expertise".

"Something could have slipped from someone's hand ... a device could have malfunctioned. We don't know yet since the mangled submarine is still underwater. But the 18 on board were highly-experienced, including three officers and three `underwater weapons specialist' petty officers (junior commissioned officers)," said a source.

INS Sindhurakshak, with a full complement of 18 missiles and torpedoes, was set to sail on "a long deployment patrol" early on Wednesday morning. The submarine's second-in-command or executive officer Lt-Commander Nikhilesh Pal, a bachelor, was on board for the final "prepare sub for sea" when something went drastically wrong.

"The torpedo air flask, which contains compressed pure oxygen, could have exploded due to something even if the exploder mechanism had not been inserted into it. Sympathetic detonation would have followed since the missiles and torpedoes are stacked together in the six tubes and the 12 racks behind them," said the source.

Rejecting hydrogen gas leakage as a "dim possibility", the sources said the 240 lead acid batteries, each weighing around 800kg, on the submarine were "brand new" after its over two-year $156 million refit in Russia.

" Old batteries emit more hydrogen. The maximum amount of hydrogen is emitted while batteries are being charged ... the process had been finished in INS Sindhurakshak over two days before the mishap. Moreover, Hydrogen levels are continuously monitored by duty-watch sailors," he said.

Similarly, the possibility of "a major material failure" is being discounted since the submarine had undergone extensive sea-trials, checks and certification processes after its refit. "INS Sindhurakshak had already finished 1,000 dived hours after the refit. If there was a defect, it would have been detected and rectified during the operations as well as the regular `turning of arms' drills during everything is powered on," he added.

Sabotage also looks "highly-unlikely" because it would require "a long chain of conspirators and insiders" who could get access to the submarine guarded round-the-clock while it was berthed in harbour. "Nothing, of course, can be completely ruled out till the forensic examination of the submarine and the exact sequence of events established during the BoI," he said.

INS Sindhurakshak: Navy sticks to 'accident' story behind submarine disaster - The Times of India

 

[Neil]

Sub was on a secret mission

Whereabouts of 18 personnel on board still unclear; 16 working outside rescued

♦ Accident happened while loading missiles in the front tube of Sindhurakshak

♦ Missile ripped through sub and hit security wall in the Dockyard, destroying it

As Deputy Chief Fire Officer P S Rahangdale left the Radio Club late on Tuesday night after a gym session, it had seemed like the end of a perfect day off. But just moments later, when he heard a deafening blast and saw a ball of fire rising in the dark sky over the Naval Dockyard, he knew his day had just begun. It was 11.35 pm.

Rahangdale first called the fire control and raised a no. 2 emergency call. His second call was to his boss, Chief Fire Officer Suhas Joshi. He told Joshi that he was reporting back to work and was taking charge of what seemed like a major fire in Naval Dockyard.

Rahangdale's instinct was spot on - it was a major blaze. Two blasts had ripped through a submarine -- INS Sindhurakshak -- at the Naval Dockyard's high-security South Breakwater bay.

The intensity of the blasts was such that it had blown the vessel's nose and sunk it, trapping three commissioned officers and 15 sailors.

Later in the day, Defence Minister A K Antony, who left for Mumbai soon after making a statement in Parliament, would describe the incident as one of the "worst tragedies" Indian defence forces have faced in a long time.

By the time Rahangdale reached the Lion Gate in Colaba, fire engines had reached the spot. What he saw inside, was shocking even for the hardened fireman. Navy vessels which were always docked in a tight order were in disarray and personnel were screaming and running in all directions, trying to avoid the massive flames and to rescue trapped colleagues at the same time. It seemed like a war zone.

First mission

When the blasts took place, Sindhurakshak was being armed for a secret mission, its first after the vessel was retro-fitted in Russia. The three officers and 15 men inside, however, had no idea what the mission was. As per the established naval protocol, the commanding officer would have been handed over a sealed envelope a few hours before the submarine's departure, detailing where he was to head and what the target was.

While the navy remained tight-lipped through Wednesday, Mumbai Mirror has information that things went wrong when the sailors were fitting Klub-class surface-to-air missiles with capability to hit targets within 300 km range. They had to fit 15 missiles in two pods - one carrying eight and the other seven. Sources said the installation of eight missiles was complete, but when the other seven missiles were being fitted, either a small fire or a short-circuit occurred and triggered one of the missiles. The missile went right through the vessel's nose and slammed into the dockyard's security wall, destroying it completely. Within seconds, another missile also caught fire and blew up inside the vessel, causing a massive fire and knocking off a part of the vessel's roof.

Aformer naval officer, who did not wish to be identified, said Klub category missiles are extremely sensitive. "Any mistake in positioning these missiles can trigger a fire and an explosion." Since the missiles pods are located in the front chamber of the submarine, all three officers and fifteen men were present in this small space, involved in the fitting of the ordnance.

While the Navy till late Wednesday evening did not release any names, sources said three officers present in the vessel were - Lieutenant Commander Nikhilesh Pal, Lieutenant Commander Vinay H, and Lieutenant Commander Aloke Kumar. The submarine's commanding officer Commander Rajesh Ramkumar was to join them a few hours before they embarked on the mission.

Sixteen sailors, who were outside the submarine on guard duty, managed to escape by jumping into the sea after the first blast. They were treated at INHS Asvini for minor injuries.

An expert said the damage would have been manifold more had the other missiles in the vessel been triggered too. "The South Breakwater bay had at least three more submarines, several frigates and ships anchored near Sindhurakshak. I would assume the sea water that entered after the submarine's nose and roof was blown off, rendered the rest of the ordnance ineffective," he added.

According to Rahangdale, INS Sindhuratan parked next to Sindhurakshak was on fire when he arrived. "We doused the fire and created a water wall between Sindhuratna and Sindhurakshak, allowing sailors to move the former away."

Eventually, commanders of all ships, frigates and ships were summoned and the entire South Breakwater bay was cleared. It took the city fire brigade and the navy's own fire engines three hours to quell the flames engulfing Sindhurakshak.

Nearly forty divers were summoned from naval centres across the western command and a rescue operation was launched in the night itself. The divers, however, struggled to enter several sections of the vessel as the hatches were fused with the metal around them because of excessive heat.

At the time of going to press, there was no information on whether the divers had managed to enter the submarine.

Since there was also a suspicion of sabotage, an alert was raised and the sea off the Naval dockyard was cleared of all vessels. Even commercial ferries plying tourists from the Gateway were asked to suspend operations temporarily.

Addressing the media after the defence minister's brief statement, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D K Joshi refused to comment on what could have caused the mishap.

He also refused to speculate on the fate of the 18 men trapped in the gutted submarine. "We hope for the best and prepare for the worst," is all he would say.


Sub was on a secret mission - Mumbai Mirror

 

[Neil]

Submarine tragedy: US, France, Germany offer help to India

NEW DELHI: Many countries including the US and France have offered help to India in its ongoing operations to bring out bodies in the sunken submarine INS Sindhurakshak.

Navy sources here said that if there is need, assistance may be sought from these countries.

Soon after the disaster, countries like the US, France and Germany had offered help to the Indian authorities in the rescue operations of the submarine which sank after a blast with 18 people on board.

The countries which have offered help have a long history of operating and building submarines and have the required expertise in such situations.

On the help to be sought by the Navy from foreign sources for salvaging the ship, the sources said the Navy has very limited in-house capabilities in this regard.

India is in talks with a few international companies who have an expertise in salvaging warships.

The Navy had recently hired a Dutch firm for salvaging its frigate INS Vidhyagiri, which had hit a merchant vessel while entering the Mumbai harbour two years back.

The sources said salvaging the submarine would also give a clear picture about the damage caused to the vessel by the blast and also help the Board of Inquiry under a Commodore (equivalent to Brigadier in Army) to ascertain the reasons behind the blast.

Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi is keeping track of the operations and had briefed defence minister AK Antony and defence secretary RK Mathur on Thursday at the minister's residence, defence ministry sources said.



Submarine tragedy: US, France, Germany offer help to India - The Times of India