INS Betwa to be fully operational by April 2018

INS Betwa, the P-16A class frigate, has been made upright by the unstinted efforts put in by the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, and the salvage firm Resolve Marine, specially contracted for the operation. It may be recalled that the ship which was undergoing major repairs had keeled on to her side during her undocking on December 5, 2016.

The salvage operations were progressed on a war footing and the initial stabilisation of the ship was achieved by December 29, 2016. The complete salvage operation involving complex hydrodynamic calculations and rigging up of intricate measuring and monitoring systems was completed in less than two months.

As the ship was undergoing major refit and midlife upgradation since April 2016, majority of the equipment/machinery had already been removed for routine servicing/replacement with upgraded equipment.

Indian Navy is confident that with in-house expertise and sustained efforts, the ship will be made fully operational by her scheduled date of refit completion, i.e by April 2018.