'INS Astravahini' decommissioned after 31 years in service

Visakhapatnam, July 17: 'INS Astravahini', an indigenously built Torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV), was decommissioned here today after almost 31 years in service.

The vessel was decommissioned at a ceremony presided over by Commodore K A Bopanna, Naval Officer-in-Charge (Andhra Pradesh Division) at the Ship Building Centre.

The ceremony commenced with an impressive guard of honour and culminated in hauling down of Naval Ensign for the last time at sunset. Bopanna, speaking at the event, highlighted the contribution made by the vessel, developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) here.

An auxiliary vessel of TLRV class, the ship was commissioned on November 5, 1984 at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command.

The only one of its class, the ship was extensively used by NSTL as a test platform to launch and recover experimental torpedoes prior to their induction into the Navy.

PTI