The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Adm R Hari Kumar visited INS Nireekshak at Kochi on Monday. (Photo | Indian Navy)
NEW DELHI: Admiral R Hari Kumar on Monday awarded 'on the spot' Unit Citation to the INS Nireekshak for carrying out the deepest salvage in the country's waters. The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Adm R Hari Kumar visited INS Nireekshak at Kochi on Monday.
The Indian Navy in a statement said, “CNS interacted with the diving team of the ship involved in the salvage operations at a depth of 219 meters in the Arabian Sea and commended the ship on the safe and successful conduct of the operations under most challenging circumstances.”
The Navy Chief also awarded commendations to the crew involved in the salvage operation.
During his address to the ship's crew, the CNS complimented the dedicated effort of the ship in conducting the deep diving operations. He exhorted the undaunted spirit of the ‘Men Behind the Machine’.
Nireekshak had also recently completed a solemn dive off the Gujarat coast to pay homage by laying a wreath at 80 m depth, the resting site of erstwhile Khukri which sank during the 1971 war.
INS Nireekshak is a Dive Support and Submarine Rescue Vessel (DSSRV). Built by Mazagon Shipbuilders in 1985, the ship has been in service with the Navy since 1989 and was commissioned in the year 1995. She has been part of various diving operations and holds the record for the deepest dive carried out in the country to a depth of 257 m.
