The Indian Navy continues to be accident-prone — after a brief respite. Last week, >an auxiliary ship sank off the Visakhapatnam coast . This tragedy claimed the life of one sailor while four personnel were deemed missing. This is the second incident in a fortnight after >INS Kora, a missile corvette , was scraped by a merchant ship near Vizag and suffered minor damage. After the latest incident, the Navy is left with just one Torpedo Recovery Vessel. Since August 14 last year, when an onboard explosion sank INS Sindhurakshak, a Kilo-class submarine that was berthed in Mumbai, there have been 15 accidents. In fact, an accident on another submarine, INS Sindhuratna, on February 26 cost the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral D.K. Joshi, his job: >he resigned owning moral responsibility . The resignation caused a major shuffle in the Navy’s top brass and >the new chief, Admiral R.K. Dhowan , ordered a review of procedures and later stated that the causes of all the incidents had been thoroughly analysed. But the trend has not been arrested, and now it seems the lessons learnt were incomplete. The problem is across-the-board. Submarines, front-line warships and support ships alike have suffered accidents. This suggests systemic lapses, be it in maintenance, acquiring spares or non-adherence to standard operating procedures. Besides, it is essential to take note of Admiral Joshi’s recent comments about his inability to take routine maintenance and procurement decisions for his force. This hints at bureaucratic overreach and a crisis of confidence between the bureaucracy and the military.
It is paradoxical that a Navy that is operating about 180 ships and inducting large modern platforms is plagued by issues of maintenance and spares. In the global context, this does not bode well for a force aspiring to be a blue-water Navy and to establish itself as a net provider of security in the region. It is widely acknowledged that the Indian Navy is a pre-eminent force in the Indian Ocean region. And many navies in the region are looking to the Indian Navy for support and leadership. It comes as no surprise that of late naval diplomacy has become a major thrust area in New Delhi’s diplomatic outreach and the Navy has been extending training and maintenance support to many nations. A dubious safety record at home will raise serious apprehensions in the minds of other nations about the country’s credibility and capacity. Whatever the reasons, these incidents are unacceptable. Mere assurances of review and reorientation will not help maintain the Navy’s image as a professional force if such accidents keep happening. Precious lives, expensive platforms as well as the larger credibility of the Navy and the nation are at stake. It is time for some honest introspection and course-correction.