Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'There is urgent need to strengthen our Navy' that was published in Newsband

There is urgent need to strengthen our Navy

A few days back, an auxiliary ship of the Indian Navy sank off the Visakhapatnam coast. This tragedy claimed the life of one sailor while four personnel were deemed missing.

Since August 14 last year, there have been 15 accidents. In fact, an accident on another submarine, INS Sindhuratna, on February 26 cost the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral D.K. Joshi, his job: he resigned owning moral responsibility.

But the trend has not been arrested, and now it seems the lessons learnt were incomplete. This suggests systemic lapses, be it in maintenance, acquiring spares or non-adherence to standard operating procedures.

It is widely acknowledged that the Indian Navy is a pre-eminent force in the Indian Ocean region. And many navies in the region are looking to the Indian Navy for support and leadership. Our Navy has been extending training and maintenance support to many nations. A dubious safety record at home will raise serious apprehensions in the minds of other nations about the country’s credibility and capacity.

Navy's non adherence to maintenance procedures is causing loss of precious human lives. What is costlier mistake than that? Navy should make a solid action plan to rectify it. The new Defence Minister should take the issue on serious note and break this so-called chain of non-seriousness in the most crucial organ of the Indian Army.

A thorough inspection is needed here and the reason behind these accidents must be known before any other accident occurs. The continuous mishaps in the Navy are not only showing its irresponsibility but also lack of strict action. Now the Navy is hoping best from the new government because the death of the crew is an embarrassing moment for both for the Navy and government.

An efficient navy with speck less track record is important not only for the actual war but also building strategic persona. Now, that the oceans are emerging as important factor for future energy resources, the need of a strong navy has even more increased. So, strengthening of navy should be on the top priority agenda for the government. If we cause delay in that we might lose the Indian Ocean to other powers such as China who are slowly trying to build their presence here.