Warship INS Godavari to be decommissioned on Dec 23

Mumbai, Dec 21: The first home-grown warship INS Godavari (F-20) will be decommissioned on December 23. Indian Navy says the ship has completed its full life cycle.

Navy says INS Godavari was showcased around the world as a symbol of India's growing military might and self-reliance.

In the last three decades, INS Godavari took part in many operations, including Operation Jupiter (1988 in Sri Lanka), Operation Shield and Operation Bolster (1994 de-induction of Indian Army from Somalia) and Patrol of Gulf of Aden (2009, 2011, anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden).

The ship had participated in Operation Cactus in 1998 successfully thwarting a coup d'état against Maldivian Government. Mercenaries who tried to flee Male on board Merchant Vessel Progress Light were arrested.

The ship's keel was laid on November 3 (1978); launched on May 15 (1980) and eventually commissioned into Navy on December 10 (1983). Navy says INS Godavari served over 32 years.

INS Godavari is the first of three Godavari Class Frigates, with others being Ganga and Gomati. Three Brahmaputra class frigates were follow on ships to the successful Godavari class design.

"INS Godavari came about from the realisation among naval planners that self reliance in design and shipbuilding was essential to build a strong navy. The Leander Frigate Project of the 1960-70s, resulted in not only the construction of six ‘Giri Class' frigates (based on the Leander design and in collaboration with the UK) at Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), but also in boosting indigenous naval design and shipbuilding capability," says a naval spokesperson.

Reacting to INS Godavari's decommissioning news, an officer associated with the ship said: "It's a sad feeling. INS Godavari was my first ship as gunnery officer. I fired my first practice missile as SAMCO. Unforgettable."

OneIndia News