INS Sudarshini (A77) en-route to Sri Lanka
History
India
NameINS Sudarshini
NamesakeSundari Nanda
OwnerIndian Navy
BuilderGoa Shipyard Limited
Launched25 January 2011
Commissioned27 January 2012
HomeportKochi, Southern Naval Command
Identification
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and typeThree-masted barque
Displacement513 tons
Length54 m (177 ft)
Beam8.53 m (28.0 ft)
Height34.5 m (113 ft) (mainmast above waterline)
Draught4.5 m (15 ft)
Installed power320 hp (240 kW) per engine
Propulsion2 Kirloskar Cummins diesel engines
Sail planBarque rig (1035m² sail area)
Complement61[2]

INS Sudarshini is a sail training ship built by Goa Shipyard Limited for the Indian Navy. The ship is a sister ship of INS Tarangini which was commissioned in 1997.[3] "Sudarshini" means "beautiful lady Sundari" after the younger half-sister of Buddha.[4] The ship was designed by Colin Mudie, a naval architect and yacht designer from the United Kingdom.[5]

Design and construction

Sudarshini is a three-masted sailing ship with a barque rig. It is 54 metres long and has 20 sails, 7.5 km of rope and 1.5 km of steel wire rope. Its sails have a total area of approximately 1,035 square metres (11,140 sq ft). Capable of operations under sail or power, and with complement of five officers, 31 sailors and 30 cadets embarked for training, it can remain at sea for at least 20 days at a time.

Sudarshini's steel hull was launched on 25 January 2011 at the port town of Vasco da Gama, Goa on the west coast of India, and by then the major portion of work had been completed. It was commissioned in Indian Navy on 27 January 2012 by Vice Admiral K.N. Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command. Built for worldwide operations, it will be used as a basic seamanship and character building platform.[6]

Service history

Sudarshini started its first nine nation voyage of ASEAN countries on 15 September 2012 to trace the ancient route taken by Indian mariners to South East Asia. During the course of the 12,000 mile voyage, she visited 13 ports in 9 ASEAN countries. The ship visited the ports of Padang, Bali, Manado in Indonesia, Port Muara in Brunei, Cebu, Manila, Da Nang, Sihanoukville in Cambodia, Bangkok, Phuket in Thailand, Singapore, Port Klang in Malaysia and Sittwe in Myanmar. While on the voyage, the ship's embarked Indian Naval and Coast Guard cadets, as well as cadets from other ASEAN countries.[7] During the ASEAN deployment, the commanding officer of Sudarshini, Commander N Shyam Sundar, wrote live blogs from sea. This was the first time the Indian Navy has used social media to promote a diplomatic naval voyage.[8] The ship returned to its home port, Kochi, on 25 March 2013 and was greeted by the Defence Minister of India, A. K. Antony, the Chief of Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Satish Soni, ambassadors and heads of missions of ASEAN nations.[9]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to INS Sudarshini (A77).

References

  1. ^ "Indian Navy Surface Ships - Training vessels". Indian Navy. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Goa Shipyards Products - Sail Training Ship".
  3. ^ "INS Tarangini gets a sister sailship: the INS Sudarshini".
  4. ^ "The name Sudarshini at IndiaParenting.com". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Indian Navy sailing ship INS Sudarshini hits water". Frontier India. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Navy commissions INS Sudarshini in its fleet". Sify News. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  7. ^ Anandan, S. (9 September 2012). "India ready to see off Sudarshini on voyage". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  8. ^ INS Sudarshini returns from odyssey on 25 March The Hindu 23 March 2013
  9. ^ INS Sudarshini Arrives to Kochi After 6 Months Voyage Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Outlook India, 25 March 2013
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