INDIAN NAVY & SAILING SHIPS

SARASIJ MAJUMDER

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In the year 2003, I went to Stavanger, Norway—which is a Port cum Industrial town , having Offshore Operating base of STAT OIL, owning, and operating many offshore Oil & Gas producing platforms at North Sea. I went to work for them on the Trouble Shooting job of a Submarine Pipeline, and stayed there for 15 days.

During my stay- there was North Atlantic European Naval Exercise, and a Russian Sailing Ship, participated in the exercise, was moored at the port.

One Sun day, I decided to see the ship, and went on board. I was welcomed, and a Cadet was there to take me around the ship, and show all details. He was speaking English. Later, I was invited to have Lunch with them.

A that time, I got intrigued that few countries still maintain Sailing ships in Navy. Later I knew, UK also have Sailing ship in navy. They have used one such ship, to finally leave Hong Kong.

I later decided to find out, whether Indian Navy has Sailing Ships. The answer is—YES. The details are furnished below:

Indian Navy has three  sailing ships (three-masted barque) namely INS VARUNA ,      INS Tarangini (A75) and INS Sudarshini (A77).

This sailing vessels are used for sailor trainings, participation in races and for 'building and strengthening friendship across ocean boundaries, around the world'. All the three ships are constructed in India. INS Tarangini and INS Sudarshini, both are designed by BRITISH NAVAL ARCHITECT Colin Mudie.

INS VARUNA was completed in April 1981 by Alcock-Ashdown in MDL, MUMBAI. It can carry only 26 cadets. It had 8 square sails,  12 fore and aft sails. INS Varuna is India's first square rig sail training vessel of the Indian Navy and  incidentally also in Asia. . It based at Kochi under the Southern Naval Command. It was commissioned on 20 April 1981 by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral RL Pereira.  I couldn’t get it’s sailing details—may not be posted by NAVY.

INS Tarangini was constructed in Goa and was commissioned by Indian Navy in the year 1997. In 2003-2004, she (as it is considered female) became the first Indian naval ship to circumnavigate the globe with the theme of "building bridges of friendship across the oceans". During the 15 month voyage, the ship covered 33,000 nautical miles (61,000 km) and visited 36 ports in 18 countries. Upon return, she was received by the President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

She also participated in various international sailing races and even won some races like The Royal Thames Yacht Club Challenge Trophy (2005). During the last 15 years, INS Tarangini has participated in 13 expeditions sailing over 188,000 nautical miles (3,48,000 km), remaining at sea for over 2,100 days, visiting 74 ports in 39 countries and transforming young naval cadets into mariners. Recently, INS Tarangini went on a 8-month voyage named LOKAYAN-15 on 4th May 2015, where she will sail through 17 ports in 14 countries to participate in the annual tall ship races and other events at Europe.

Also, I'd like to share an experience of an Indian,  who visited INS Tarangini at Montreal in 2003:

INS Tarangini visits Old Montreal:-
INS Tarangini, a Varuna Class sail and training ship, docked at the Montreal Old Port, just behind the Centre des Sciences Montreal on Saturday, 31st August 2003. This tall ship, which is on a goodwill circum-navigation trip around the globe sailed from Sarnia, where it took part in the Tall Ships Celebration. I was waiting in anticipation for more than 3 months to see this ship and meet Indian sailors; I also put off all appointments for the long Labour Day weekend and reserved it entirely to this ship. I was not to be disappointed. From Rue De La Commune, a busy tourist street in the Old Montreal running parallel to the St. Laurent River facing Pont Jacques Cartier, Parc Jean-Drapeau and the Montreal Biosphere - more than 500 meters away, the overwhelming sight of the massive and majestic Indian national tricolour just could not be missed. The ship being so tall, one could clearly see the Indian flag flying away in all its radiant glory, marking its unmistakable and glorified presence. The Indian immigrant community seemed to also make their presence felt; however, the ship was predominantly visited by the local Canadian and Quebecor and American tourist community. Old and young alike, were amazed that a country from the other side of the planet had decided to send a sail ship without any engines so far away to spread the message of love and peace. It was truly remarkable to have the brave and tough Indian sailors keep their duty to the nation foremost in mind; sacrificing personal pleasures for the better part of 18 months to sail around the world at the call of the nation.

As I first saw the tricolour, I started clicking away frantically...and just couldn't stop. Once I almost managed to fall over and plunge down into the water - more than 40 feet below...not to be comforted by the fact that I don't know how to swim. As I approached the ship, my heart started to pound faster, eyes welled up, and with a great sense of pride and belonging, I went aboard the ship - to be greeted by the effervescent Indian salutation, Namaste. The ship looks a little bit small in pictures, but in reality is quite huge. I have almost no knowledge of sail ships, so cannot really describe it completely here. However, the commander's lookout was amazing with a 360º panoramic view with all the sails folded. Certain sections of the ship were however, out of bounds for everybody. I managed to stay on the ship a little bit longer, feeling a little proud that my feeble contribution made to India a couple of years ago through the way of taxes helped to build this ship. After talking to the crew on-board, it seemed to me that in spite of being away from their near and dear ones for a very long time, they were all smiles, braving it all. Eager to meet one and all, they were explaining the various aspects of sailing, training and seamanship - most of which was more complicated than rocket science to me. All in all, it was a truly exhilarating experience. I dearly wish that the Indian Armed Forces embark on more goodwill missions such as these in the future. I was also blessed by beautiful skies, slightly cool weather and crisp air to take some really nice pictures. Being an amateur photographer at heart, I was really lucky to have captured this massive sail ship on my tiny little lens, and in my mind and memories forever....Jai Hind!
Source: INS Tarangini visits Old Montreal

INS Sudarshini was commissioned in Indian Navy on 27 January 2012.
INS Sudarshini started its first international voyage for 9 ASEAN countries on 15 September 2012, to trace the ancient route taken by Indian mariners to South East Asia. She visited 13 ports during 12,000 mile voyage. During the voyage, commanding officer of the ship wrote live blog which was the first time Indian Navy used social media to promote a diplomatic naval voyage.

INS Sudarshini visited Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat, Oman on 05 Dec 21 for a three day Operational Turn Round (OTR). The ship is part of the 1^st Training Squadron based at Kochi which provides ab-initio sea experience to sea trainees of the Indian Navy. The ship is on a deployment to the Middle East aimed at strengthening ‘Bridges of Friendship’ with Friendly Foreign Countries in the region as also reach out to the Indian diaspora settled in the Gulf. 

During her stay at Muscat, the ship’s crew engaged extensively with the Royal Navy of Oman. The Commanding Officer, Cdr Srikanth Venugopal, paid an official visit to HQ Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) and interacted with Capt. Ali Al Hosini, Director General Human Resources, RNO. Naval cooperation, training of young officers and aspects of sail training were amongst the subjects discussed. The ship also undertook operational exchanges in the form of visits to RNO Sail Training Ship Shabab Oman II and Woodham Naval Base, and also embarked five sea riders onboard for a sea experience sortie. 

The Commanding Officer also called on HE Shri Amit Narang, Ambassador of India to Oman, Muscat. Ambassador along with the Indian Embassy staff also visited the ship and a familiarisation tour was conducted onboard. 

INS Sudarshini is an indigenously built Sail Training Ship (STS) built by Goa Shipyard Limited and based at Kochi, Kerala under the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. The along with her sister ship, INS Tarangini form the sail training element of the 1^st Training Squadron and has been imparting sail training to IN personnel as well as junior officers from friendly foreign countries.

INS Sudarshini, the second Sail Training ship of First Training Squadron celebrated her 12th anniversary on 27 Jan 2024. Having sailed over 1,40,000 nautical miles and flown the Indian flag across the globe, she is a true beacon of friendship and maritime cooperation, while she continues to train the future leaders of the Indian Navy.

JAI HIND!

 

REFERENCES:-

1.0 https://sailtraininginternational.org/vessel/sudarshini/

2.0 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1779428

3.0 https://sailtraininginternational.org/vessel/tarangini/

4.0 http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/weapons/specs/100-Varuna-Class.html

IMAGE: INDIAN NAVY