Indian Navy Decommissions Three Warships After 4 Decades Of Honourable Service

On January 12, 2024, the Indian Navy said a fond farewell to three legendary vessels: Guldar, Cheetah, and Kumbhir. These served the nation honourably for forty years. The customary tradition of lowering the country’s National Flag, the Naval Ensign, and the Decommissioning Pennants at sunset to mark the end of a historic era was carried out at the decommissioning ceremony, which was held at Port Blair.

The abovementioned Polnocny class Landing Ships were manufactured at the Gdynia Shipyard in Poland and were put into service between 1984 and 1986. Cheetah, Kumbhir, and Guldar became crucial to the Indian Navy while Ambassadors S. K. Arora and A. K. Das were in Poland. Initially based at Kochi, Visakhapatnam, and Chennai, the ships subsequently joined the Andaman and Nicobar Command, where they served until their decommissioning.

In the nearly 40 years of active naval service, these vessels travelled over 17 lakh nautical miles and spent over 12,300 days at sea. Known for serving as platforms for amphibians, they carried out more than 1300 beaching operations, which made it more seamless for the army soldiers to land.

The vessels were essential to disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and marine security activities. Operation Aman amid IPKF operations, Operation Tasha in 1990 to combat smuggling and illegal immigration, excellent rescue efforts after the 1997 hurricane off Sri Lanka, and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami stand out for exceptional service records.

The decommissioning event experienced the presence of dignitaries, including Air Marshal Saju Balakrishnan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, Vice Adm. Tarun Sobti, the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Flag Officers, the commissioning crew, and former Commanding Officers. The occasion had a unique significance as three warships from the same class bid farewell, marking the closure of a special chapter in the Indian Navy’s history.

Reference: Financial Express

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