INS Kadamba or Naval Base Karwar or Project Seabird is an

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 si ...

base located near

Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. The first phase of construction of the base, code-named ''Project Seabird'', was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 31 May 2005. Development of Phase II commenced in 2011. INS Kadamba is currently the third largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase IIB. The construction of Naval Base covers an area of 11,169 acres in Phase I.
Karwar Naval Base Gears Up For Second Phase of Expansion at a Cost of About $3 Billion The Navy’s aircraft carrier

INS Vikramaditya INS ''Vikramaditya'' (Sanskrit: ', )Literally ''Vikramaditya'' translates as being "Sun (Aditya) of valour" (Vikram). The component ''"āditya"'' ( sun) literally means "he who belongs to Aditi". It was the title of the most famous Indian king ...

is based at

. The base also has the country’s first

sealift Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such a ...

facility, a unique “

shiplift A shiplift is a modern alternative for a slipway, a dry dock, floating dry dock or a dry dock, graving dry dock. A shiplift is used to dry dock and launch ships. It consists of a structural platform that is lifted and lowered exactly vertically, ...

” and transfer system for docking and undocking

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s and submarines.

History

During the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in

Mumbai Harbour Mumbai Harbour (also English; Bombay Harbour or Front Bay, Marathi''Mumba'ī bandar''), is a natural deep-water harbour in the southern portion of the Ulhas River estuary. The narrower, northern part of the estuary is called Thana Creek. The ...

due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists. At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns. Alternative locations for a base on the west coast were evaluated, including

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

and

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

. In the early 1980s, then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson conceived of a dedicated naval base sandwiched between the craggy hills of the Western Ghats and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

near Karwar in Karnataka state. Located south of the naval bases in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

and north of

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, the location had significant advantages as being very close to the world's busiest shipping route between the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

and

east Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

and out of range of most strike aircraft from neighboring countries. It also offered a natural deep-water harbour and significant land area for expansion, allowing larger aircraft carriers to berth. However, due to a variety of reasons, including the 1991 economic crisis, development was delayed.

Project Seabird

In 1999, following

Pokhran-II The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb Nuclear weapons testing, test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran#Pokhran Nuclear Test Range, Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear t ...

, then Defence Minister

George Fernandes George Mathew Fernandes (3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019) was an Indian trade unionist, statesman, and journalist, who served as the 22nd Defence Minister of India from 1998 until 2004. He was a member of Lok Sabha for over 30 years, starting f ...

approved ''Project Seabird'' to pursue the construction of the new naval base at Karwar.

Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...

was the lead contractor for the marine works on the harbour, in partnership with

Hochtief Hochtief AG is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.breakwater were constructed using over 4.4 million cubic metres of rock to protect the harbour. The Binaga Bay was dredged and its rock outcrops blasted to allow even large aircraft carriers to turn inside the bay.

Anjadip Island Anjediva Island (also Anjadip Island) ( Konkani: Anjadiv; Portuguese: ''Ilha de Angediva'') is an Indian island in the Arabian Sea. It sits off the coast of Canacona. It is politically part of Goa state, geographically the nearest mainland is t ...

is one of the two islands to which the breakwaters are linked for reinforcement. A second channel will be added to the base to allow warships to enter and exit the port simultaneously.

Phase I expansion

INS Delhi (D61) docked using the shiplift system at Naval Ship Repair Yard at INS Kadamba (Karwar)

Spread over an area of and of coastline on the

, Phase I of INS ''Kadamba'' was commissioned on 31 May 2005. The expanded base opened in 2007, with space for up to 11 front-line warships and 10 smaller FIC-type boats. Key facilities include the 10,000 tonne, ship lift, a ship transfer system for dry docking at the Naval Ship Repair Yard, and a 141-bed naval hospital INHS ''Patanjali''.
India Opens Major Western Naval Base Near Karwar Naval Ship Repair Yard commenced functioning in July 2006 and the ship-lift was commissioned on 8 November 2006. Commodore K P Ramachandran was the first Commanding Officer of INS ''Kadamba''. Phase-I was completed at a total cost of .

Phase II expansion

India Government ProjectSeabird 1-710x531

Development of Phase II of INS Kadamba was supposed to commence in 2011 but got delayed due to lack of environmental clearance. The Phase-IIA expansion approval was obtained from the

Cabinet Committee on Security The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Government of India discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and generally all matters of Ind ...

in 2012, after getting approval from then Defence Minister A K Antony, and were granted.
Strategic Karwar naval base set for major expansion The environment clearance for Phase II was granted in June 2014 on a priority basis for strategic reasons by the environment minister

Prakash Javadekar Prakash Keshav Javadekar (born 30 January 1951) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and served as the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from 30 May 2019 till 7 July 2021. Javadekar was ...

of Narendra Modi government. The work will now commenced in 2016 and is expected to be completed by 2022. Under the proposed expansion plans, a 3,000 feet long runway will be built. If the Centre and the State send request to the

seeking to utilize the runway for civil aviation aircraft, the runway length will be increased to 6,000 feet. Post completion as many as 30

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s can be anchored at the base and it would have a hangar to hold as many

military aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equi ...

. The

, through the State government, has acquired 11,334 acres of land which includes 8,661 acres of forest land.

Phase II-A

India Government ProjectSeabird 3-708x531

Phase II-A is expected to commence in 2017 and end in 2021–2022 with an expected cost of Rs 19,600 crore. The project is expected to generate large scale employment and infuse money into the local economy. In this phase, the base will undergo the following upgrades: * Eight operational jetties, two refit jetties, four cover drivers and full-pledged dockyards to handle additional ships * Naval air station for helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and medium transport aircraft with a civil terminal * INHS Patanjali will be upgraded from 141-bed to 400-bed hospital * Second

Kendriya Vidyalaya The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan () is a system of central government schools in India that are instituted under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,248 schools in India, and three abroad in Moscow ...

After completion of this phase, the base will have over one lakh personnel working there, apart from their families living in an upcoming residential township. Apart from berthing

, two more

aircraft carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...

will be homeported here. For this, two more jetties will be used. A few of the submarines will also be based here.

Phase II-B

After the completion of this phase of the project, INS ''Kadamba'' will be able to base 50 front-line warships, and will be the biggest naval base east of the Suez canal.

Important milestones

*Initial Sanction - 1985 *Foundation Stone laid - 24 October 1986 *Acquisition of land - 1985–1988 *Master Plan & DPR - 1990 *Truncated Phase 1 sanctioned - Oct 1995 *Execution of project - 1995–2005 *Rehabilitation Phase 1 - 1995–1999 *Construction commenced - 2000 *Priority Housing - February 2003 *Breakwater completed - February 2004 *Sailors Residential Colony - July 2004 *Anchorage completed - November 2004 *Pier completed - February 2005 *Officers Colony at Kamath Bay - February 2004 *Docking of the first navy ship INS Shardul *Karwar Naval Hospital - Feb 2005 (Temporary location) *Ship Lift installed - Apr 2005 *Visit by US Defence Secretary

Ashton Carter Ashton Baldwin Carter (September 24, 1954 – October 24, 2022) was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States Secretary of Defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the Be ...

with Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar Manohar Parrikar (born Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar; 13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party who served as Chief Minister of Goa from 14 March 2017 until his death. Previous ...

- 12 April 2016

References

External links

India Opens Major Western Naval Base Near Karwar
Defense Industry Daily

''Ravi Sharma'', Frontline, Volume 22 - Issue 11, 21 May - 3 June 2005.

''Vijay Sakhuja'', Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, #1580, 13 December 2004. {{Indian Navy Kadamba Karwar