INS ''Sumitra'' is the fourth and last

Saryu class patrol vessel The ''Saryu'' class of offshore patrol vessels (OPV) are advanced patrol ships of the Indian Navy built at the Goa Shipyard Limited. These vessels are capable of ocean surveillance and monitoring and can maintain control of shipping lanes. They ...

of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed by

Goa Shipyard Limited Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) is an Indian Government owned ship building company located on the West Coast of India at Vasco da Gama, Goa. It was established in 1957, originally by the colonial government of the Portuguese in India as the "Estalei ...

. It is also the

presidential yacht Presidential yacht may refer to a vessel of a country's navy that would be specially used by the country's president. It is common for a vessel to be designated as the presidential yacht during a fleet review. Some countries (below) have vessels p ...

of India. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.

Construction

The keel of INS ''Sumitra'' was laid at Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) on 28 April 2010, and she was launched on 6 December 2010. During her construction at GSL, she was known as Yard 1211.

Service history

INS ''Sumitra'' completed her sea trials and was handed over to the Indian Navy on 18 July 2014, and was commissioned into the fleet by the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan on 4 September 2014 in Chennai. She will operate under the

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

and conduct maritime surveillance and coastal security missions. Her first Commanding Officer is Commander Milind Mokashi.

Operation Raahat

On 30 March 2015, INS Sumitra and her crew rescued 350 Indian citizens stranded in Yemen, by evacuating them from the Yemeni port of

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

to Djibouti across the Red Sea. This rescue was part of

Operation Raahat Operation Raahat ( hi, राहत, Rāhata, Relief) was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in that country ...

. ''Sumitra'' was diverted from her anti-piracy patrol in the Lakshadweep region to join the operation while Saudi Arabia-led forces were conducting air strikes against Houthi rebels. Two other navy ships and

INS Tarkash (F50) INS ''Tarkash'' (F50) is the second constructed for the Indian Navy. She is part of the second batch of ''Talwar''-class frigates ordered by the Indian Navy. She was built at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia. She was commissioned to N ...

were also part of this operation, along with two C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

, two Airbus A-320 aircraft from Air India and passenger liners MV ''Kavaratti'' and MS ''Coral''. The operations were overseen by Gen VK Singh (Retd), Minister of State for External Affairs, Government of India.

Gallery

References

External links