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Skills of Indian, U.S. Navy divers put to test

Staff Reporter

Salvex-2005 concludes; wreck of aircraft salvaged

RETRIEVING WRECKAGE: Remains of an aircraft, believed to be a Seahawk of the Indian Navy, which sank off the Kerala coast in the 1970s, being retrieved during the Indo-US joint naval exercises in Kochi on Thursday.

KOCHI: Salvex 2005, the 12-day bilateral exercise undertaken by the Indian and U.S. navies, concluded here on Friday with naval divers salvaging the wreck of an Indian Navy fighter which had crashed into the sea off Kochi in the 1960s or 70s.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Southern Naval Command (SNC), Cdr. George Alexander, activity coordinator who represented the Indian Navy, said that the wreckage was possibly of a Sea Hawk fighter. "The type of aircraft could not be identified since we could not recover the aircraft's cockpit and tail. The markings on the wreckage were not visible either. It was salvaged from a depth of 50 metres, 25 nautical miles off Kochi, by a team of divers from both the navies and brought ashore in USS Safeguard, the U.S. salvage ship which participated in the exercise," he says.

"The wreckage was discovered in March, during the Indo-French joint naval exercise. Four officers and 16 sailors represented the Indian Navy, while seven officers and 100 sailors represented the U.S. Though our Navy does not have a salvage ship, we have a diving tender based in Kochi. Thus, we have the capability and have salvaged aircraft, vessels etc.," Cdr. Alexander said, adding that the exercise helped the Indian Navy divers and personnel in getting acquainted with the U.S. salvage ship, their procedures, terminology and equipment.

The Indian side was represented by personnel led by Lt. Cdr. Sanjay Sakpal, the commanding officer of INS Matanga, an ocean-going tug based in Mumbai used to tow ships stranded in the sea to safe locations.

Better understanding

The activity co-ordinator of the U.S. side, Cdr. Tony San Jose, thanked the Indian Navy for hosting the bilateral exercise. "The team work during the past few days helped in bettering the understanding between the navies. We also visited the Naval Diving School in the SNC and were impressed by the training being given here," he said.

The school also trains personnel of the Coast Guard, army, paramilitary and even civilians (in the commercial diving course).

The commanding officer of USS Safeguard, Lt. Cdr Doyle K Hodges, said that the visiting naval team was impressed by the level of training and capability of the Indian Navy.

"You have a very competent set of personnel. On our side, we have 20 women sailors, who are in charge of different systems of the ship. We were much impressed by Kochi's hospitality. We had a great time here and this was once-in-a-lifetime experience for us," he said.

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