INS ''Jalashwa'' (Sanskrit/Hindi:
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
, जलाश्व) is an
amphibious transport dock
An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operat ...
currently in service with the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
. Formerly , she, along with six
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft en ...
helicopters were procured from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
by
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
for a total of US$90 million in 2005. She was commissioned on 22 June 2007. INS ''Jalashwa'' is the only Indian naval ship to be acquired from the United States. She is based in
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...
under the
Eastern Naval Command.
[
]
Description
''Jalashwa'' features a well deck, which can house up to four LCM-8 mechanised landing craft that can be launched by flooding the well deck and lowering the hinged gate aft of the ship. She also has a flight deck for helicopter operations from which up to six medium helicopters can operate simultaneously. The deck can also be used to operate vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft like the Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/ vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered servic ...
, in special circumstances. She is also capable of embarking over 1,000 troops, and is fully equipped with extensive medical facilities including four operation theatres, a 12-bed ward, a laboratory and a dental centre.
Acquisition history
The Indian Navy felt the need for better amphibious landing capability in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, when the Navy's rescue and humanitarian efforts were hampered by inadequacy of existing amphibious ships in its fleet. In 2006, the Indian government announced it would purchase the US Navy's retired landing platform dock
An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operat ...
for approximately 228 crore ($48.44 million). Her sister ship was also offered, but India declined the offer.
The Indian Navy took possession of the ship on 17 January 2007 in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
after the transfer agreement was signed by Commodore P Murugesan, Naval Attaché at the Embassy of India to the US, and Rear Admiral Garry E Hall of US Navy. She then underwent a refit at the Norfolk Naval Base until May 2007. The Indian Navy also purchased six UH-3 Sea King
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engin ...
maritime utility transport helicopters for $39 million for operation from the ship. Sea Harrier aircraft can be operated from the deck of the ship.
The ship was commissioned as INS ''Jalashwa'' on 22 June 2007, at Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
by Shri Ronan Sen, then the Indian ambassador to the United States. Captain BS Ahluwalia and Commander Dinesh Singh were her first Commanding Officer and Executive Officer, respectively.
Controversy
The purchase terms of the ship resulted in controversy, with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the ...
censuring the Indian Navy for a hasty purchase without exercising sufficient due diligence and for accepting restrictions on use and access. According to the report, the United States obtained an assurance that the naval ship could not be used for any offensive purposes, and had the right to regularly inspect it, under an end-user monitoring agreement that India and the US signed in 2009. In addition, no physical assessment was done by India prior to purchase and the US Navy reportedly did not reveal the need for upgrades and modifications.
A response to this criticism was that the ship was acquired primarily to aid the Navy in gaining vital operational information for expanding its amphibious warfare capabilities. The Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma
Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma (born 14 November 1950) is a former senior naval officer who served as the Chief of the Naval Staff of Indian Navy, from 31 August 2009 to 31 August 2012. In November 2012, he was appointed as the High Commissioner ...
clarified that inspections by the United States are not intrusive, i.e. no boarding of the ship by US personnel is allowed. A team from the US Department of Defence examined night vision devices, which were taken out of ''Jalashwa'' for the inspection.[
]
Service history
On 1 February 2008, five Indian Navy personnel were killed, and three others critically injured by inhaling poisonous hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas aboard ''Jalashwa''. The mishap occurred during an exercise in the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
, between Visakhapatnam and the Andaman Islands. ''Jalashwa'' immediately headed to Port Blair
Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...
, with the critically injured seamen and two officers being airlifted from the ship.
Lieutenant Commander Shwet Gupta and Lieutenant Ruchir Prasad were critically injured while trying to rescue their sailors. Gupta subsequently died of his injuries.
On 26 February 2011, INS ''Jalashwa'' and were deployed to the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
under Operation Safe Homecoming to evacuate Indian citizens from Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
in the aftermath of the turmoil from the 2011 Libyan civil war
The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...
. They carried their full air wings, and a contingent of MARCOS Marcos may refer to:
People with the given name ''Marcos''
*Marcos (given name)
Sports
;Surnamed
* Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century)
* Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
* Nélson Marcos, Portug ...
.
INS ''Jalashwa'' has undergone two refits. A short one, limited by financial constraints, helped the ship attain higher speeds. The second refit in 2012 was longer, and her radars and sensors were replaced with indigenous equipment. This reduced the navy's dependence on US-origin components, as it was uncomfortable with the US inspection regime.
Gallery
See also
*Indian Navy Multi-Role Support Vessel programme
The procurement of Landing Platform Docks (LPD) by the Indian Navy, formerly known as the "Multi-Role Support Vessel Program" (MRSV) - is an initiative of the Indian Navy to procure a series of landing platform docks, specific vessels dedicate ...
*List of active Indian Navy ships
List of active Indian Navy ships is a list of ships in active service with the Indian Navy. In service ships are taken from the official Indian Navy website.
References
External links
USS ''Trenton'' becomes INS ''Jalashva''
INS ''Jalashva'' commissioning ceremony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalashwa (L41)
Austin-class amphibious transport docks of the Indian Navy
1968 ships
Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company