INS Sindhurakshak: snorkel sub has caught fire and sunk

INS Sindhurakshak has caught fire and sunk with about 18 crew on board after an explosion at a port in Mumbai.    Latest emerging visuals are indicating that multiple blasts could have taken place outside 

- India relies on its submarines to conduct a second strike on the enemy in a nuclear war scenario, the navy said in a maritime military strategy report released in 2007.   This sub is equipped with Russian Club-S cruise missile systems.

The 16-year-old Russian-made submarine,had recently returned from Russia after undergoing an overhaul and upgrade.

India has 14 diesel-powered submarines.   Sindhurakshak was constructed in Admiralty Shipyard, St. Petersburg. Construction of the submarine began in 1995. It was launched in June 1997 and delivered in December 1997.


Class & type: Sindhughosh-class submarine
Displacement: 2325 tons surfaced
3076 tons dived
Length: 72.6 m (238 ft)
Beam: 9.9 m (32 ft)
Draught: 6.6 m (22 ft)
Propulsion: 2 x 3650 hp diesel-electric motors
1 x 5900 hp motor
2 x 204 hp auxiliary motors
1 x 130 hp economic speed motor
Speed: Surfaced: 10 knots (19 km/h)
Snorkel Mode: 9 knots (17 km/h)
Submerged: 17 knots (31 km/h)
Range: Snorting: 6,000 mi (9,700 km) at 7 kn (13 km/h)
Submerged: 400 miles (640 km) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h)
Endurance: Up to 45 days with a crew of 52
Test depth: Operational Depth: 240 m (790 ft)
Maximum Depth: 300 m (980 ft)
Complement: 68 (incl. 07 Officers)[1]
Armament: 9M36 Strela-3 (SA-N-8) surface-to-air missile
3M-54 Klub-S anti-ship and land-attack missiles
Type 53-65 passive wake homing torpedo
TEST 71/76 anti-submarine active-passive homing torpedo
24 DM-1 mines in lieu of torpedo tube

In the next few hours INS Jalayashaya (USS Trenton) (L41) second largest ship of the Indian Navy India, and two destroyers will be dispatched from Mumbai to evacuate its citizens from Libya. 18,000 Indians are currently based in Libya, many of them work for construction companies. L41 can take 1000.

Class and type: Austin class amphibious transport dock
Displacement: 8894 tons light, 16590 tons full, 7696 tons dead
Length: 173.7 meters (570 feet) overall, 167 meters (548 feet) waterline
Beam: 30.4 meters (100 feet) extreme, 25.6 meters (84 feet) waterline
Draught: 6.7 meters (22 feet) maximum, 7 meters (23 feet) limit
Propulsion: Two boilers, two steam turbines, two shafts; 24,000 shp
Speed: 20 knots (40 km/h)
Capacity: 900-1000 troops
Complement: 28 officers, 480 men, 1436 marines
Armament: 4 × 3 in / 50 caliber AA gun mounts
Aircraft carried: capacity:6 UH-3 Sea King helicopters
Notes: capacity: Four LCM-8 landing craft housed in a hangar below

Rubber dinghies found in Mumbai harbor

There were 10 men aboard the boat who appeared to be in their early 20s, and eight of them disembarked carrying backpacks. all the 10 gunmen were Pakistani because they spoke Punjabi or Punjabi-accented Urdu. Measuring about 3 meters long, the boat had a new Yamaha 40-horsepower outboard engine. The vessel bore Arabic characters used in writing Urdu. Fuel cans and life jackets were found in the boat.

Mumbai Terrorists avoided detection off Sir Creek

The 45-foot fishing boat Kuber left its home port on India's west coast and headed for the abundant waters near the Sir Creek, a river that runs into the sea at the fuzzy aquatic border between India and Pakistan. Authorities from both sides regularly seize boats, imprison the crew and then negotiate over releases, the routine interception of boats raises questions about how the terrorists managed to avoid detection before they hijacked the Kuber. more

Mumbai terrorists from mv Al Hussaini

Ajmal had told interrogators that he and his accomplices were put up in a house in Karachi's Azizabad locality for a while before being asked to board a mid-sized vessel from Kajhar Creek. They travelled 20-25 km southwest before they were picked up by a group of Pakistanis on board a ship plying under the registration of Al Hussaini.

Pakistani vessel sought in Mumbai attack

An American counterterrorism official said there was strong evidence that Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistani militants who have fought Indian troops in Kashmir, had a “maritime capability” and would have been able to mount the sophisticated operation in Mumbai. The Mumbai terrorists, says a prisoner, set off on November 21 from an isolated creek near Karachi without the arms and ammunition they were to use in Mumbai. The group received arms and ammunition from a large Pakistani vessel which picked them up the following day. The vessel, whose ownership is now the subject of an international probe, had four Pakistanis apart from the crew.

A day later, they came across an Indian-owned trawler, Kuber, which was promptly commandeered on the seas. Four of the fishermen who were on the trawler were killed, but its skipper, or tandel in fishermen lingo, Amarjit Singh, was forced to proceed towards India. Amarjit was killed the next day, and Ismail the terrorist who was killed at Girgaum Chowpaty took the wheel.

A trained sailor, Ismail used the GPS to reach Mumbai coast on November 26. The group, however, slowed down its advance as they had reached during the day time while the landing was planned after dusk. The group shifted to inflatable boats, before disembarking at Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade.

The Kuber had set sail for Jakhau in Kutch near India-Pakistan border for fishing on November 14. Usually these boats return from fishing within 10 days but this one did not. The fisheries department was alerted about this on November 24. Kuber, with a 118 HP marine engine, had five crew members on board.

MV Omranili searched in Mumbai

MV Omranili voyage

The Coast Guard, the Bombay Port Trust, the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Customs have formed separate teams to inspect the freighter and find out if it is carrying any arms or ammunition.