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Friday, June 17, 2005 9:55:01 AM
Indian navy on the crest of a wave
By Sudha Ramachandran
Jun 18, 2005
BANGALORE - India's naval power projection and maritime security have received a big boost with the commissioning of a giant new naval base - Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kadamba - on its Arabian Sea coast. INS Kadamba, which is India's third operational naval base after Mumbai and Vishakapatnam, is the first to be controlled exclusively by the Indian navy.
INS Kadamba is Phase I of the Indian navy's ambitious US$8.13 billion Project Seabird. Situated at Karwar, 100 kilometers south of Goa, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, INS Kadamba is being described as the biggest base of its kind this side of the Suez.
When completed, it will be Asia's largest naval base, with the capacity to berth more than 22 ships, including the 44,000-ton aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov purchased from the Russians (and renamed INS Vikramaditya), as well as the indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV). Spread over 11,200 acres, Project Seabird will include a naval base, an air force station, a naval armament depot, a ship-lift system, missile silos and a full-fledged ship repair yard. According to some reports, some naval vessels have already begun making use of the facility.
INS Kadamba meets a long-standing demand by the Indian navy for a naval base under its exclusive control. Hitherto, the navy has had to share space with commercial vessels at ports in Mumbai, Vishakapatnam and Kochi, for instance. Commercial vessels take up the bulk of space at these ports, and often heavy commercial traffic means that naval vessels have to wait for hours at sea. Besides, "the proximity of merchant vessels to a naval base is not an ideal situation from the point of view of security", points out a retired officer of the Indian navy.
According to Project Seabird director general, Rear Admiral K Mohanrao, "A base at Karwar will provide strategic depth to India's naval capabilities. It will also help decongest Mumbai harbor."
Lawrence Prabhakar, associate professor at the Madras Christian College and research fellow at the maritime security program at the Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, describes Karwar as "an ideal site for a naval base".
Drawing attention to Karwar's suitability as a base, former chief of naval staff, Admiral O S Dawson, one of the architects of Project Seabird, says, "No other place on the western or eastern seaboards is half as valuable as Karwar is. Half a mile into the sea, and the water depth is there. Besides, Karwar's hilly terrain provides excellent camouflage to ground installations, and pens [enclosures] cut on the rock face can conceal submarines. The extent of the land available in and around Karwar will enable the navy to disperse its forces, a crucial necessity in times of an attack."
Prabhakar says Karwar's topography and terrain provide excellent cover. "Its bays and offshore islands provide strategic protection and its hilly, forested hinterland provide cover from surveillance satellites," he tells Asia Times Online.
Prabhakar draws attention to the significant role that Karwar, which will host India's maritime surveillance capabilities, will play in monitoring maritime, especially naval traffic, in the region. He points out that the Arabian Sea - especially the Northern Arabian Sea - is one of the densest maritime traffic areas in the world, with civilian and naval shipping of various countries plying these waters.
"China's submarines, especially its nuclear attack submarines, will frequent Gwadar [a deep sea port in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, which is being described as China's 'listening post' in the Persian Gulf] in the near future. Besides monitoring Chinese naval movements in these waters, India will have to keep an eye on Pakistan's deployment of its newest submarines - the new Air Independent Propulsion [AIP] submarines, like the French Scorpene," Prabhakar says.
"AIP submarines are the quietest ones in the class; running deep and running silent. The varying isothermal layers of the Arabian Sea, owing to the warmth of the waters and salinity, renders detecting sonar signals extremely complicated. Hence the need to have a geostrategic naval base in between Mumbai and Kochi would result in better surveillance and reconnaissance," Prabhakar says, adding that the sea lanes of communication in the Arabian Sea would be monitored better.
Karwar also offers the navy several advantages over Mumbai. At Karwar, the navy will not have to share space with commercial vessels. Karwar does not face a problem of silting, as does Mumbai, so it will not have to be dredged as frequently. Since its waters are deeper than those at Mumbai, it allows for better anchorage. Above all, Karwar is located further away from the Pakistani port of Karachi - Karwar is 900 nautical miles from Karachi, while Mumbai is 580 nautical miles away.
These advantages and the need to put to optimum use the facilities at Karwar have prompted some to call for a shift of the Indian navy's western command headquarters currently stationed in Mumbai to Karwar. As the retired officer of the Indian navy points out, "When the Indian navy's main battleships will operate out of Karwar, why should the western command be headquartered in Mumbai?" Opponents of shifting the western command argue that the move would be expensive and that the western command in Mumbai is essential for the navy's operational plans.
Project Seabird was conceived decades ago and suffered time and cost overruns. It received government sanction in August 1985 and construction was to begin in January 1986 and finish in seven years. In October 1986, then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi even laid the foundation stone for the project. But it was shelved thanks to a resource crunch. Work on the project began only in 1999.
With the commissioning of INS Kadamba, Phase I has been completed. But the full potential of Project Seabird will be realized only after Phases II and III are completed. "It is these two phases which will prove critical to the navy's plans to acquire blue-water capabilities," argues Saikat Dutta in the weekly newsmagazine Outlook.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF18Df04.html
By Sudha Ramachandran
Jun 18, 2005
BANGALORE - India's naval power projection and maritime security have received a big boost with the commissioning of a giant new naval base - Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kadamba - on its Arabian Sea coast. INS Kadamba, which is India's third operational naval base after Mumbai and Vishakapatnam, is the first to be controlled exclusively by the Indian navy.
INS Kadamba is Phase I of the Indian navy's ambitious US$8.13 billion Project Seabird. Situated at Karwar, 100 kilometers south of Goa, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, INS Kadamba is being described as the biggest base of its kind this side of the Suez.
When completed, it will be Asia's largest naval base, with the capacity to berth more than 22 ships, including the 44,000-ton aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov purchased from the Russians (and renamed INS Vikramaditya), as well as the indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV). Spread over 11,200 acres, Project Seabird will include a naval base, an air force station, a naval armament depot, a ship-lift system, missile silos and a full-fledged ship repair yard. According to some reports, some naval vessels have already begun making use of the facility.
INS Kadamba meets a long-standing demand by the Indian navy for a naval base under its exclusive control. Hitherto, the navy has had to share space with commercial vessels at ports in Mumbai, Vishakapatnam and Kochi, for instance. Commercial vessels take up the bulk of space at these ports, and often heavy commercial traffic means that naval vessels have to wait for hours at sea. Besides, "the proximity of merchant vessels to a naval base is not an ideal situation from the point of view of security", points out a retired officer of the Indian navy.
According to Project Seabird director general, Rear Admiral K Mohanrao, "A base at Karwar will provide strategic depth to India's naval capabilities. It will also help decongest Mumbai harbor."
Lawrence Prabhakar, associate professor at the Madras Christian College and research fellow at the maritime security program at the Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, describes Karwar as "an ideal site for a naval base".
Drawing attention to Karwar's suitability as a base, former chief of naval staff, Admiral O S Dawson, one of the architects of Project Seabird, says, "No other place on the western or eastern seaboards is half as valuable as Karwar is. Half a mile into the sea, and the water depth is there. Besides, Karwar's hilly terrain provides excellent camouflage to ground installations, and pens [enclosures] cut on the rock face can conceal submarines. The extent of the land available in and around Karwar will enable the navy to disperse its forces, a crucial necessity in times of an attack."
Prabhakar says Karwar's topography and terrain provide excellent cover. "Its bays and offshore islands provide strategic protection and its hilly, forested hinterland provide cover from surveillance satellites," he tells Asia Times Online.
Prabhakar draws attention to the significant role that Karwar, which will host India's maritime surveillance capabilities, will play in monitoring maritime, especially naval traffic, in the region. He points out that the Arabian Sea - especially the Northern Arabian Sea - is one of the densest maritime traffic areas in the world, with civilian and naval shipping of various countries plying these waters.
"China's submarines, especially its nuclear attack submarines, will frequent Gwadar [a deep sea port in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, which is being described as China's 'listening post' in the Persian Gulf] in the near future. Besides monitoring Chinese naval movements in these waters, India will have to keep an eye on Pakistan's deployment of its newest submarines - the new Air Independent Propulsion [AIP] submarines, like the French Scorpene," Prabhakar says.
"AIP submarines are the quietest ones in the class; running deep and running silent. The varying isothermal layers of the Arabian Sea, owing to the warmth of the waters and salinity, renders detecting sonar signals extremely complicated. Hence the need to have a geostrategic naval base in between Mumbai and Kochi would result in better surveillance and reconnaissance," Prabhakar says, adding that the sea lanes of communication in the Arabian Sea would be monitored better.
Karwar also offers the navy several advantages over Mumbai. At Karwar, the navy will not have to share space with commercial vessels. Karwar does not face a problem of silting, as does Mumbai, so it will not have to be dredged as frequently. Since its waters are deeper than those at Mumbai, it allows for better anchorage. Above all, Karwar is located further away from the Pakistani port of Karachi - Karwar is 900 nautical miles from Karachi, while Mumbai is 580 nautical miles away.
These advantages and the need to put to optimum use the facilities at Karwar have prompted some to call for a shift of the Indian navy's western command headquarters currently stationed in Mumbai to Karwar. As the retired officer of the Indian navy points out, "When the Indian navy's main battleships will operate out of Karwar, why should the western command be headquartered in Mumbai?" Opponents of shifting the western command argue that the move would be expensive and that the western command in Mumbai is essential for the navy's operational plans.
Project Seabird was conceived decades ago and suffered time and cost overruns. It received government sanction in August 1985 and construction was to begin in January 1986 and finish in seven years. In October 1986, then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi even laid the foundation stone for the project. But it was shelved thanks to a resource crunch. Work on the project began only in 1999.
With the commissioning of INS Kadamba, Phase I has been completed. But the full potential of Project Seabird will be realized only after Phases II and III are completed. "It is these two phases which will prove critical to the navy's plans to acquire blue-water capabilities," argues Saikat Dutta in the weekly newsmagazine Outlook.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF18Df04.html
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