Karwar and sister ship Kakinada were acquired by the Indian Navy from the erstwhile USSR
Indian Naval Ships Karwar and Kakinada were decommissioned yesterday with Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba attending as the chief guest for the ceremony. Lanba had served as the second commanding officer of INS Kakinada.
These minesweepers, belonging to the Flotilla, were decommissioned at a ceremony here last evening. INS Karwar (M67), was the first of the 'Natya' class minesweepers acquired from the erstwhile USSR. She was commissioned on 14 July 1986 at Riga (Russia) under the command of Commander R K Sinha. The ship operated from Vishakhapatnam till 2013 after which, the ship was based at Mumbai. Manned by a crew of six officers and 90 sailors, INS Karwar had her motto 'Hamesha Tayyar'.
INS Kakinada (M70), was the second of the same class and also commissioned at Riga on 23 December 1986. Like her sister ship, Kakinada also operated from Vishakhapatnam till 2013 before shifting base port to Mumbai. Her first commanding officer, then lieutenant commander Satish Soni, rose to the rank of vice admiral and retired as the flag officer commanding-in-chief Easter Naval Command in 2016.
Both ships have rendered over 30 years of stellar service to the nation. The ships have undertaken countless mine-sweeping missions using both, the older mechanical sweeps as well as the modern Side-scan SONARS, stated an official release from the Indian Navy.