Gulf of Aden anti piracy convoy schedules June and JJuly 2015

Government of Japan convoy schedule for June and July 2015. To apply for JMSDF escort, visit http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/maritime/maritime_fr2_000000.html, please contact directly the Anti-Piracy Contact and Coordination Office, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT), Japan: Tel: +81-3-5253-8932 Fax: +81-3-5253-1643 Email: INFO-PIRACY@mlit.go.jp.

Korean Navy convoy schedule for June and July 2015. All merchant vessels wishing to join the convoy group must submit their application forms directly to the ROK naval warship carrying out the mission. The ROK MTG can be reached directly at INMARSAT: 00-870-773-110-374, Email: cheonghaeetg@navy.mil.kr.

Chinese Navy convoy schedule for June and July 2015. For further information, please email planavy@navy.mil.cn, or call Tel: 86 10 652 92218/96, Fax: 86 10 652 92245.

Indian Navy convoy escort schedule for June and July 2015. To register, email dgcommcentre-dgs@nic.in or visit www.dgshipping.com. Telephone numbers for contact are: 91-22-22614646 or fax at 91-22-22613636.

Russian Navy convoy escort schedule for June and July 2015. For further information email smb@msecurity.ru, isps@msecurity.ru or fax +7 (499) 642-83-29.

Indian Navy anti-piracy convoy schedule for Gulf of Aden, November 2013

Indian Navy anti-piracy convoy schedule for November, 2013:

GULF OF ADEN: Indian Navy convoy escort schedule for October and November 2013. To register, email antipiracyescort@dgshipping.com or dgcommcentre@satyammail.net, or visit http://www.dgshipping.com. Telephone numbers for contact are: 91-22-22614646 or fax at 91-22-22613636 (MSCHOA).

Source: US Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence

India to Take Possession of Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya November 16

India to lease 2nd nuclear submarine from Russia

Under the deal, India would provide funds to restart construction on the Akula I attack boat Iribis that was laid down at the Amur shipyard in 1994 and had its construction halted in 1996 at 42% completion due to lack of funds. (The “mighty Soviet navy” being neither mighty, nor Soviet, nor barely a navy in those days.)

India may finalize deal to lease second nuclear submarine from Russia during PM’s visit

NEW DELHI: Faced with a depleting fleet of submarines, India is expected to acquire on lease a nuclear submarine from Russia, a deal for which may be finalized during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit there starting on Sunday.

The move to acquire the second nuclear submarine from Russia comes two months after the Navy’s frontline Russian-origin Kilo Class INS Sindhurakshak submarine sank at the Mumbai harbour after an explosion suspected to have occurred in its torpedo section.

A proposal in this regard was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister in its recent meeting. The deal is expected to cost India more than Rs 6,000 crore, highly-placed government sources told PTI.

The Indian Navy is already operating one Akula II Class nuclear submarine — Nerpa. The over 8,000-tonne warship was inducted in April last year at the Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command and renamed ‘INS Chakra’.

Under the project, India is planning to finance the construction of an old Akula Class submarine ‘Irbis’ in Russia, which could not be completed during the 1990s due to the lack of funds after the break up of the erstwhile USSR.

The two countries have been holding negotiations in this regard for quite some time and they were concluded recently. The construction of the submarine is expected to take at least three to four years.

India’s submarine fleet, which is getting old, suffered a huge blow after the sinking of the INS Sindhurakshak at the Mumbai harbour, killing all the 18 people on-board.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-20/india/43220501_1_akula-ii-class-ins-sindhurakshak-submarine

Russia will turn over 35-year old aircraft carrier to India on 15 November

Laid down in for the Soviet Navy as Baku, renamed Admiral Gorskhov in the post-Soviet era, and rechristened (or should that be rehindued?) as the Vikramaditya when sold to the Indian Navy. When accepted into Indian service on 15 November, the hull will already be 35-years old.

INS Vikramaditya to be handed over to Navy on Nov 15

NEW DELHI: After a delay of around five years, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is now expected to be handed over to the Indian Navy on November 15 in Russia, where it is presently undergoing refit.

Vikramaditya, formerly known as Admiral Gorskhov, completed all its trials in the last two months in the Barents Sea and the White Sea after delays of around five years on several counts.

The carrier is on course to be handed over to the Indian Navy in November 15, Navy officials said today.

Once inducted, it will be the second aircraft carrier in the Navy after INS Viraat and give it an strategic advantage in the Indian Ocean.

Vikramaditya, which is already years past its original 2008 delivery date, was supposed to have been handed over on December 4, 2012, but sea trials in September that year revealed the ship’s boilers were not fully functional.

It then returned to the shipyard to fix the problems that were detected during the sea trials.

The ship had demonstrated excellent seaworthiness, speed of 27.9 knots (about 52 km per hour) and manoeuvrability during the three-month sea trials.

India and Russia had signed a USD 947 million deal for 45,000-tonne Gorshkov in 2004. The deal amount was revised later to USD 2.3 billion.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/ins-vikramaditya-to-be-handed-over-to-navy-on-nov-15/articleshow/22718865.cms

Naval escorts for merchant vessels in Gulf of Aden

Japan, South Korea, China and India all providing naval escorts through Pirate Alley during August and September.

PLAN and GULF OF ADEN: Government of Japan convoy schedule for August and September 2013. Merchant vessels that wish to apply for JMSDF escort operation should visit http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/maritime/maritime_fr2_000000.html, please contact directly the Anti-Piracy Contact and Coordination Office, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT), Japan: Tel: +81-3-5253-8932 Fax: +81-3-5253-1643 Email: INFO-PIRACY@mlit.go.jp (MSCHOA)

GULF OF ADEN: Korean Navy convoy schedule for August and September 2013. All merchant vessels wishing to join the convoy group must submit their application forms directly to the ROK naval warship carrying out the mission. The ROK MTG can be reached directly at (INMARSAT: 870-773-110-374), (Email: rokcheonghae@gmail.com) (MSCHOA)

GULF OF ADEN: Chinese Navy convoy schedule for August and September 2013. For further information, please e-mail cnmrcc@msa.gov.cn, cnmrcc@mot.gov.cn, or call Tel: 86-10-652-92221 Fax: 86-10-652-92245 (MSCHOA)

GULF OF ADEN: Indian Navy convoy escort schedule for August and September 2013. To register, email antipiracyescort@dgshipping.com or dgcommcentre@satyammail.net, or visit http://www.dgshipping.com. Telephone numbers for contact are: 91-22-22614646 or fax at 91-22-22613636 (MSCHOA)

Indian delegation flies to Russia, demands assistance in salvaging sunken submarine

Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall when the Indian delegation arrives at the Admiralty Shipyard?

The Russians have already insisted that the explosion could not possibly be their fault, because we all know how reliable Russian technology is… right? So telling the Indians to their face that clearly they’re to blame should be interesting.

India wants Russia to help raise sunken submarine

Photo: EPA

Indian and Russian officials are discussing options for raising Russian-built Indian diesel-electric submarine Sindhurakshak, which caught fire after a series of explosions on board and sank off Mumbai on August 14, killing all its crew of 18, said a source close to Russia’s shipbuilding industry.

There remain unexploded torpedoes on board, which is an obstacle to raising Sindhurakshak, the source said.

Indian Navy officials have asked for technological and physical help in bringing up the submarine from the seafloor but neither the Russian government nor any Russian firm has received any official request for this from India.

United Shipbuilding Corporation declined to comment, while a spokesman for Admiralty Shipyard, which built Sindhurakshak, said that an Indian delegation was due to visit the shipyard on Friday but did not disclose what would be discussed during the visit.

One explanation of the Mumbai accident that has been offered is that the first explosion was caused by high concentration of hydrogen in an accumulator in the head compartment, which is next to the torpedo unit.

India received Project 877EKM Sindhurakshak in 1997.

A fire on board the vessel in 2010 that was caused by a hydrogen explosion killed one of the sailors.

The submarine was repaired and modernized at Russia’s Zvyozdochka shipyard in 2010-2012.

Russian experts still denied access to sunken Indian sub

A group of Russian experts from the Zvyozdochka ship repair center have not been allowed to visit the site of India’s sunken Sindhurakshak submarine in Mumbai, Zvyozdochka’s official spokeswoman Nadezhda Shcherbinina confirmed to the Voice of Russia.

“They may not be allowed to visit in principle,” she said.

“This is a prerogative of the country that owns the ship. We have contacted our warrantee group in Mumbai. They remain at their hotel. They have not been invited, so to say. They may be or may not be invited to participate.”

Earlier, Russian media reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Russian experts had been granted access to the sunken submarine.

Voice of Russia, Interfax

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_23/India-wants-Russia-to-help-raise-sunken-submarine-source-2775/

Faulty Russian technology to blame for Indian submarine disaster? Not according to Russia.

Voice of Russia dismisses theory that Indian submarine disaster has anything whatsoever to do with Russian technology. Nope. Must be human error by Indians. Couldn’t possibly be faulty Russian technology.

Three reasons behind Indian submarine disaster

India has ordered a review of its submarines’ weapons safety systems, after initial investigations showed arms on board the INS Sindhurakshak may have played a role in its sinking. The Voice of Russia has reviewed three possible reasons that led to an explosion on board Indian submarine in Mumbai dockyard on August 14.

First version – sabotage or terrorist attack

The INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank in the Mumbai port on August 14, on the eve of India’s Independence Day. Most likely, this circumstance stirred a discussion about a possible terrorist attack. Theoretically, extremists might have planned to carry out a “demonstrative subversive act” ahead of the national holiday. However, at the very begging of the investigation into the accident in Mumbai port, the Indian authorities and the majority of local experts dismissed such a version saying that the port and the submarine were guarded around the clock, and a well-organized plot was needed to commit the sabotage.

Second version – technical failure and defect in design

The INS Sindhurakshak was built at the Admiralteiskue Shipyard in St. Petersburg in 1995, and two years later, it was handed over to the customer. In the late 2012, it underwent planned repair and was upgraded at the base of the Zvezdochka Shipbuilding Centre in Severodvinsk which is specialized in repairing the 877 Project submarines. After Indian organization accepted the submarine, it sailed some 10,000 nautical miles and reached the Mumbai port. It has been on combat duty twice. According to Indian media, the night before the accident, Sindhurakshak ended preparations for another outward bound. According to an official at the Zvezdochka Shipbuilding Centre, the specialists of the guarantee group visited the submarine on the eve of the accident, and all systems under their control were completely operable.

In short, from the experts’ point of view, technical or design defect cannot be examined as an apparent reason that led to the accident.

Third version – human factor: violation of safety standards and engineering instructions

A. As part of this version, experts are discussing first and foremost possible violations by the crew during the recharging of the submarine’s accumulators.

Hydrogen emits during the charging and exploitation of batteries, and when its concentration increases, an extremely explosive mixture is formed in the air. In this case, submarine is equipped with a hydrogen burner that is aimed at neutralizing a possible threat of an explosion.

In an interview with the Voice of Russia, retired Commodore Parambir Singh Bawa pointed to the possibility of exploding hydrogen. Several Indian dailies said that there were three explosions on board the submarine: originally, a small blast and then two powerful blasts occurred on board the submarine causing a fire. Then the submarine sank. It was suggested that originally, hydrogen exploded, and then ammunition might have exploded.

However, some experts dismiss possible explosion of hydrogen and diesel fume.

B. According to several Indian dailies, short circuit triggered by a sailor’s mistake might have caused the explosion on board the submarine.

C. Addressing the parliament Defence Minister A.K. Antony said that preliminary investigations had indicated that blasts on INS Sindhurakshak submarine were caused by “possible ignition” of armament.

The cause of ignition, has not established yet.

The Indian Defence Minister said that this would be possible only after the partially submerged submarine is afloat and dewatered.

At present, the Defence Ministry has ordered to check security systems of all submarines of the Indian Navy.

According to several local experts, if a warhead had really exploded on board the submarine, then the submarine’s forward end was completely destroyed because a warhead of a Club anti-ship missile contains 400 kilograms of powerful explosive. Most likely, the entire hull is destroyed, and it will not be expedient to repair the submarine.

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_20/Three-reasons-behind-Indian-submarine-disaster-0377/

India launches first “Indigenous Aircraft Carrier”

Currently, India relies on its 1940s-vintage aircraft carrier the INS Viraat (ex HMS Hermes) . that will remain in service until at least 2018 (pos. 2020) when the INS Vikrant will be commissioned.

An additional aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya (ex Soviet carrier Baku) is currently undergoing sea trials and aviation trials with a mixed Russian/Indian crew and is expected to be handed over in November 2013… ish… provided the date doesn’t slip… again.

A second Vikrant class aircraft carrier, provisionally named INS Vishal, is in the design stage, pending funding… and, more importantly, a decision on whether further ships in the class will be conventionally or nuclear powered.

The former INS Vikrant (ex HMS Hercules) was decommissioned from the Indian Navy in 1997 and is alongside as a ‘sometimes open, sometimes closed’ museum ship in Mumbai and may be sent for scrap if funds are not found for her continued preservation. That would be a shame, as she’s the only Second World War era British aircraft carrier that is preserved as a museum ship.

Indian-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant launched

The INS Vikrant was launched amid chanting from ancient Hindu scriptures at the Kochi shipyard in the southern state of Kerala

India has unveiled its first home-built aircraft carrier from a shipyard in southern Kerala state.

The 37,500 tonne INS Vikrant is expected to go for extensive trials in 2016 before being inducted into the navy by 2018, reports say.

With this, India joins a select group of countries capable of building such a vessel.

Other countries capable of building a similar ship are the US, the UK, Russia and France.

Monday’s launch of INS Vikrant marks the end of the first phase of its construction.

The ship will be then re-docked for outfitting and further construction.

The ship, which will have a length of 260m (850ft) and a breadth of 60m, has been built at the shipyard in Cochin.

It was designed and manufactured locally, using high grade steel made by a state-owned steel company.

Vice-Admiral RK Dhowan of India’s navy has described the launch as the “crowning glory” of the navy’s programme to produce vessels on home soil.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-23662726

INS Arihant, India’s first SSBN, fires up nuclear reactor, ready for sea trials

‘Arihant’ means “slayer of enemies” in Sanskrit. That’s a heck of a name for a missile boat!

India plans to build 4 boats in the Arihant class. The INS Arihant is the lead vessel in her class and, with reactor activation, is ready to commence sea trials. The second boat in the class, the INS Aridhaman, is nearing completion at Visakhapatnam and will be ready to be launched in late 2013/early 2014.

In a first for India, nuclear sub’s reactor activated

A twin of this Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) at Kalpakkam has been installed on INS Arihant. Photo: Special Arrangement

Capping 25 years of indigenous efforts in a technologically challenging area that only a handful of nations have mastered so far, the reactor on board India’s nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant, went into operation at 1.20 a.m. on Saturday.

Arihant’s reactor achieved “criticality” — the term used to describe the self-sustaining nuclear reaction which is the first step towards the stable production of power — when the boat was “already in the sea.”

The submarine — which is about 111 metres long, 11 metres broad and about 15 metres tall — is designed to be propelled by a pressurised water reactor (PWR) that uses enriched uranium as fuel, and light water as both coolant and moderator. The PWR will generate about 80 MWt.

The main challenge, say the scientists who worked on the project, lay in making the reactor compact enough to fit into a submarine. Besides, the reactor needs to be stable when the submarine is accelerating in the depths of the sea.

The submarine will eventually be fitted with K-15 underwater fired missiles, which can hit targets 700 km away. The K-15 missiles, which will carry nuclear warheads, are already under production. India is building three more nuclear-powered submarines at Visakhapatnam as part of its programme to shore up its second strike capability.

Five countries already possess nuclear-powered submarines: the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France and China. Apart from India, Brazil is working on naval nuclear propulsion.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-a-first-for-india-nuclear-subs-reactor-activated/article5009164.ece