VISAKHAPATNAM: On April 3, the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) formally inducts INS Taragiri (F41) into its fleet.
The 6,670-tonne Project 17A frigate arrived in Visakhapatnam following a construction timeline that began with its keel laying in September 2020 and its delivery by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in 2025.
While the ship is a significant engineering achievement, built with over 75% indigenous content and the contribution of 200 MSMEs, the focus for its crew is the transition from a technical project to a functional home. For the 300 crew on board, the commissioning marks the point where a structure of steel plates becomes a living vessel.
Captain Hemanth Gopal, Commanding Officer, views the event as a rare professional responsibility.
“Building a ship is the task of the shipbuilders, but bringing life to it is ours,” he noted, adding, “My team must ensure that hundreds of individual systems function together seamlessly. It is about taking a structure of steel and making it a functioning warship, all while upholding the respected legacy of the previous Taragiri.”
IPMS acts as centralised computer for INS Taragiri
The vessel carries a name with historical weight in the Indian Navy. Commander Siddhartha Gupta (Executive Officer), Commander G Siva Venkatesh (Engineering Officer), Commander Akhilesh Sharma (Electrical Officer), and Commander Abhishek Bali (Logistics Officer) operate under the ship’s motto, Rise Above. They emphasise that while ships of the same class are built to the same specifications, the crew defines the ship’s character. “Every ship has its own soul,” the officers remarked, stating, “The previous Taragiri was known for its reliability and its ability to complete every mission assigned to it. We have embedded that same ethos into our new platform.”
Technically, the ship is managed through an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), which acts as a centralised computer for monitoring machinery and power. Lt. Bhuvan HC (Assistant Electrical Officer), alongside Praveen (Navaids Maintainer), Deepak Teotia (CHERA), and Varun Chourey (Radio Maintainer), manages these automated systems. They point out a practical advantage of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. “When equipment is indigenous, servicing and spare parts are available within the country, which significantly reduces maintenance time compared to foreign-sourced components,” the officers opined.
Life at sea, however, is defined by more than just advanced propulsion and missile systems.
The team shared a grounded perspective on the realities of long deployments.