VISAKHAPATNAM: Indigenously built Torpedo launch and Recovery vessel INS Astradharini was successfully commissioned here Tuesday.
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Satish Soni took part during its commissioning ceremony held at the Naval Base here.
INS Astradharini will be used to carry out technical trials of underwater weapons and systems developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a naval systems laboratory of the DRDO. It is an advanced replacement for Astravahini which was decommissioned on July 17, 2015.
On the occasion, Vice Admiral Satish Soni congratulated the NSTL staff on their contribution, by partnering with the Shipyard, through out the ship building and trial process which helped build the fine ship. He said that the induction of INS Ashtradharini adds thrust to the nation’s ongoing endeavours at indigenisation and achieving the nation’s goal of self-reliance in underwater weapons development.
He later unveiled a plaque to dedicate the ship to the nation.
INS Astradharani has a complement of two officers, 27 sailors and can also accommodate 13 DRDO scientists and has the capacity to undertake multiple trials during a single sortie.
The design of Astradharini was a collaborative effort of the NSTL, Shoft Shipyard and IIT Kharagpur and has a unique design of a catamaran hull form that significantly reduces its power requirement and is built with indigenous steel. Having a length of 50 metre, the vessel is capable of speeds up to 15 knots.
The vessel can operate at high sea states and has a large deck area with Torpedo Launchers for deploying and recovering various kinds of torpedos during the trials.
The naval officers also claimed that the ship has modern power generation and distribution, navigation and communication systems.
Naval officer in-charge, Andhra Pradesh, Commodore KA Boppanna read out the Commissioning Warrant of the Ship by Commanding Officer, Commander Deepak Singh Bist.
Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Shoft Shipyard Private Ltd Sahay Raj, NSTL director CD Malleswar and Scientist Director-General (NS&M), DRDO, V Bhujanga Rao and naval officers took part in the event.