Bangalore: January 4 will be a day of many firsts for the Navy and the naval base Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kadamba, when Defence Minister A.K. Antony commissions India's newest landing ship INS Shardul.

INS Shardul will be the first ship to be commissioned from INS Kadamba, the Navy's most modern and state-of-the-art operational base at Karwar (on India's west coast).

It will result in an Indian Naval landing ship being based on India's western seaboard for the first time (so far they have been based on the east at Visakhapatnam), and the occasion will also be Mr. Antony's maiden visit to INS Kadamba after assuming charge of the portfolio.

Third of its kind

INS Shardul, which is in the landing ship for tanks-large (LST-L) class, is the third of its kind.

The earlier ships of its class being the INS Magar and INS Gharial, which were built and delivered in 1987 and 1997 respectively.

This class of ships, unlike conventional surface ships, are used to support amphibious operations, carry equipment, cargo and troops.

Accompany forces

They also accompany expeditionary forces during assaults on beaches.

INS Shardul can carry 11 main battle tanks, 10 army vehicles and 500 troops (excluding the ship's crew) for amphibious operations and can achieve a speed of 15.8 knots. It will allow the disembarkation of army vehicles and troops directly onto the beachhead.

The ship is also provided with helicopter landing facilities to accommodate either the United States-made Sea King Mk 42 or the indigenously Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-built Advanced Light Helicopter, Dhruv.

Built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata, INS Shardul has, according to defence ministry sources, successfully completed HATS (harbour acceptance trials) and SATS (sea acceptance trials).

INS Shardul will be the fifth ship to be based at INS Kadamba, the Navy's futuristic base, which is meant to decongest Mumbai, the Navy's premier bit overcrowded base, with at least 10 ships that are now based at Mumbai being relocated to INS Kadamba.

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