Submarine’s
ageing power pack was not replaced in refit
Even
as the Navy recovered the bodies of Lt. Commander Kapish Muwal and Lt.
Commander Manoranjan Kumar, the two officers killed in Wednesday’s explosion on
board the submarine INS Sindhuratna, fresh evidence is emerging that ageing
equipment might have contributed to the tragedy.
Though
the ageing, 1988-commissioned INS Sindhuratna had undergone a refit earlier
this year, investigators have found that the batteries that powered it
underwater had not been replaced because of delay in contracting, highly placed
Navy sources said. Investigators would seek to establish how the flaw escaped
attention during earlier harbour trials, the sources said.
Hydrogen
leaking from the batteries, as The Hindu reported on Thursday, is thought to
have caused the explosion. The two dead officers were trapped in the burning
compartment, after it was sealed off to prevent the fire spreading.
Admiral
D.K. Joshi, who resigned as Navy Chief hours after the tragedy, made a
closed-door speech to 40-odd flag officers who assembled at naval headquarters
on Thursday. Admiral Joshi said he felt compelled to resign because, even as he
cracked down hard on officers responsible for errors, he had been unable to
push the Defence Ministry to take adequate supportive measures.
The
Admiral said that he consulted none but his wife before taking the decision.
In
a separate statement to the media, Defence Minister AK Antony told journalists
he “consulted everybody” before accepting the resignation.
“I
met the Prime Minister also. Ultimately, we took a decision to accept the
resignation.”
Describing
the Navy Chief as a “very good Admiral” and a “fine human being,” the Minister
said he was “sad” about the development.
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