New Delhi: Indian Navy’s diesel-electric submarine INS Sindhuratna, known as the Jewel of the Sea, has returned to Mumbai after undergoing major repairs at the Naval Dockyard in Russia. This Kilo class submarine has reached Mumbai from Russia after a long journey of 97 days. After repair, this submarine was stuck in Russia due to war and economic crisis with Ukraine, which could hardly be brought to India.

The Indian Navy has Sindhughosh class submarines Sindhudhvaj, Sindhuraj, Sindhuratna, Sindhukesari, Sindhukirti, Sindhuvijay, Sindhurakshak and Sindhurashtra. These are all diesel-electric submarines of Russian origin, in which accidents began to increase. In fact, on February 26, 2010, a sailor was killed and two others were injured in a fire aboard INS Sindhurakshak. The fire was caused by a faulty battery. Subsequently, on 14 August 2013, Sindhurakshak caught fire following an explosion and Sindhurakshak sank in the dock. On 17 January 2014, while returning to Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, Sindhughosh was stranded at sea due to low tide.

Following this, on 26 February 2014, smoke was detected aboard INS Sindhuratna off the Mumbai coast, resulting in seven sailors falling unconscious and two dying. 4-5 sailors were taken to a hospital in Mumbai after they fainted from suffocation. On board was the senior most submarine officer of the Western Naval Command. The investigation did not establish the cause of the fire, but reports suggest that smoke filled compartment No. 3 in the sailors’ accommodation area when the submarine was submerged during a training mission, leading to the accident. The last rites of Lieutenant Commander Kapish Singh Muwal and Lieutenant Commander Manoranjan Kumar, who were killed in the accident, were performed with full military honours.

After this, INS Sindhuratna was sent to the Naval Dockyard in Russia for repairs. When it was time for the submarine to return to India after several years of repairs, war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. INS Sindhuratna got stuck in Russia due to lack of sea lift commercial transport dock ship and all routes to get her from Russia to Mumbai were closed. Due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the economic crisis, commercial transport dock operators did not want to operate from Russia. At this the Indian Navy planned to bring the submarine to a port in Norway via a transport dock ship. In this way, this Kilo class submarine has reached Mumbai from Russia after a long journey of 97 days. IgMp