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INS Kadamba

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Coordinates: 14°45′51.20″N 74°7′42.36″E / 14.7642222°N 74.1284333°E / 14.7642222; 74.1284333
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14°45′51.20″N 74°7′42.36″E / 14.7642222°N 74.1284333°E / 14.7642222; 74.1284333

INS Kadamba
Karwar, Karnataka
TypeNaval station
Site information
Controlled byIndian Navy
Site history
Built2005 (2005)
In use2005–present
Garrison information
OccupantsWestern Naval Command

INS Kadamba is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka.[1] The first phase of construction of the base, code-named Project Seabird, was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 31 May 2005.[2] Development of Phase II commenced in 2011. INS Kadamba is currently the third largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase IIB.[3][4]

History

During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists. At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns.[5] Alternative locations for a base on the west coast were evaluated, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Thoothukudi.[6]

In the early 1980s, then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson conceived of a dedicated naval base sandwiched between the craggy hills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea near Karwar in Karnataka state. Located south of the naval bases in Mumbai and Goa and north of Kochi, the location had significant advantages as being very close to the world's busiest shipping route between the Persian Gulf and east Asia and out of range of most strike aircraft from neighbouring countries. It also offered a natural deep-water harbour and significant land area for expansion, allowing larger aircraft carriers to berth. However, due to a variety of reasons, including the 1991 economic crisis, development was delayed.[4]

Project Seabird

In 1999, following Pokhran-II, then Defence Minister George Fernandes approved Project Seabird to pursue the construction of the new naval base at Karwar. Larsen & Toubro was the lead contractor for the marine works on the harbour, in partnership with Hochtief, Ballast Nadem Dredging of the Netherlands, Radisson of Australia and Nedeco of The Netherland. Over 5 km of breakwater were constructed using over 4.4 million cubic metres of rock to protect the harbour.[7] The Binaga Bay was dredged and its rock outcrops blasted to allow even large aircraft carriers to turn inside the bay. Anjadip Island is one of the two islands to which the breakwaters are linked for reinforcement. A second channel will be added to the base to allow warships to enter and exit the port simultaneously.[4]

Phase I expansion

INS Delhi docked using the ship-lift system at Naval Ship Repair Yard at INS Kadamba.

Spread over an area of 45 square kilometres (11,000 acres) and 23 km (14 mi) of coastline on the Arabian Sea, Phase I of INS Kadamba was commissioned on 31 May 2005.[8][9] The expanded base opened in 2007, with space for up to 11 front-line warships and 10 smaller FIC-type boats. Key facilities include the 10,000 tonne, 175 m x 28 m ship lift, a ship transfer system for dry docking at the Naval Ship Repair Yard, and a 141-bed naval hospital INHS Patanjali.[10][11] Naval Ship Repair Yard commenced functioning in July 2006 and the ship-lift was commissioned on 8 November 2006.[12] Commodore K P Ramachandran was the first Commanding Officer of Kadamba.

Phase-I was completed at a total cost of ₹2,629 crore (US$315 million).[13]

Phase II expansion

Development of Phase II of INS Kadamba commenced in 2011.[5] It will double the existing facilities at the base.[14] Phase II will reportedly involve expansion of the berthing facilities to accommodate 40 more front-line warships, tugs and barges, raise manpower to 300 officers and around 2,500 sailors, and build a naval air station with a 6,000-foot runway. The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is also home-ported here. The total cost of this project is estimated to be US$3 Billion.[3][10][15]

The environment clearance for Phase II-A and II-B was granted in June 2014 on a priority basis for strategic reasons by the environment minister Prakash Javadekar of Narendra Modi government. It is now expected to be completed by 2020, by which time it will harbour about 60 major warships by 2020.[16][17]

Phase II-A

Phase II-A is scheduled to last until 2018-2019, under which the base will get a naval air base, armament depot, dockyard complex and missile silos; plus additional jetties, berthing and anchorage facilities, and will become the India Navy's largest base by 2025. This will enable the navy to berth 32 major warships and submarines, and various other ships including 10 of the 80 fast-interceptor craft (FICs) to be acquired for the coastal security force Sagar Prahari Bal. The Phase-IIA expansion approval was obtained from the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2012, after getting approval from the Defence Minister A K Antony, and ₹13,500 crore (US$2 billion) were granted.[18][19][20]

After completion of this phase, the base will have over one hundred thousand personnel working there, apart from their families living in an upcoming residential township. Apart from berthing the Vikramaditya, two more aircraft carriers will be homeported here. For this, two more jetties will be used. A few of the Scorpene submarines will also be based here.[20]

Phase II-B

After the completion of this phase of the project, Kadamba will be able to base 50 front-line warships, and will be the biggest naval base east of the Suez canal.[3][4][19]

Important milestones

  • Initial Sanction - 1985[21]
  • Foundation Stone laid - 24 October 1986
  • Acquisition of land - 1985–1988
  • Master Plan & DPR - 1990
  • Truncated Phase 1 sanctioned - Oct 1995
  • Execution of project - 1995–2005
  • Rehabilitation Phase 1 - 1995–1999
  • Construction commenced - 2000
  • Priority Housing - February 2003
  • Breakwater completed - February 2004
  • Sailors Residential Colony - July 2004
  • Anchorage completed - November 2004
  • Pier completed - February 2005
  • Officers Colony at Kamath Bay - February 2004
  • Docking of the first navy ship INS Sutlej - 4 December 2004[4]
  • Karwar Naval Hospital - Feb 2005 (Temporary location)
  • Ship Lift installed - Apr 2005

See also

References

  1. ^ "INS Kadamba". Indian Navy. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  2. ^ "INS Kadamba". Indian Navy. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b c [1] Karwar Naval Base Gears Up For Second Phase of Expansion at a Cost of About $3 Billion
  4. ^ a b c d e Unnithan, Sandeep (20 December 2004). "Power Base". India today. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b "India Opens Major Western Naval Base Near Karwar". Defense Industry Daily. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Seabird on course". Frontline. 20 December 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  7. ^ "INS Kadamba - Naval Base at Karward". India Defence. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  8. ^ "INS Kadamba commissioned". Rediff. 31 May 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Karwar naval project takes off from May 31". The Hindu. 22 May 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  10. ^ a b [2] India Opens Major Western Naval Base Near Karwar
  11. ^ "INS Kadamba commissioned". The Hindu. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Naval Ship Repair Yard (Karwar)". Indian Navy. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Green nod for radar station at Narcondam in Andamans". The Economic Times. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  14. ^ "INS Kadamba". Global Security. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Uneasy Karwar set to berth INS Vikramaditya". The Times of India. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Seabird Phase II: Nation's Naval might gets a fillip". The Times of India. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Navy's Karwar project gets green nod". The Times of India. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference now was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b [3] Strategic Karwar naval base set for major expansion
  20. ^ a b "Karwar to get India's largest Naval base". The New Indian Express. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  21. ^ "Project Seabird". Indian Navy. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
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