karwar project
Several warships to be shifted to Karwar
MUMBAI, Dec 15/2001:
Several warships of the Western Naval Command (WNC) would be shifted from Mumbai to the new naval base at Karwar on the Karnataka coast by 2005-06, when the first phase of project ‘Seabird’ is completed.
"The work is on in full swing and we expect that some of the ships of the WNC will be shifted to the new base by 2005-06," senior Indian Navy officials have said.
WNC officials, who have been directly involved with the ‘Seabird’, said the project would cover 8,000 acres and occupy around 28 km of the coastline, and the deep draught would facilitate berthing of larger vessels.
According to officials, the rationale behind setting up a new futuristic naval base with state-of-the-art facilities on the western coast was its strategic location.
"The WNC is headquartered in Mumbai. We have two ports, the Mumbai Port and the Nahva Sheva Port, at a very close distance. One aim is to decongest the shores," an official said.
Moreover, the rapidly expanding Indian navy would need more space, with the Government sanctioning a 30-year submarine building programme, along with new ships such as project 17 (stealth ships) and project 15-alpha.
"We are expanding and will need berthing space and also dock and repair facilities, and hence the new base at Karwar will go a long way," the officials stated adding that in a short span of time, the fleet would almost be doubled. The new Harbour would be about 500 nautical miles away from the wnc headquarters in Mumbai, home to most of the ships and submarines, including aircraft carrier INS Viraat, the Delhi-class destroyers and a mix of warships.
The officials said construction of the new base would involve three 5.5 km breakwaters, quarrying granite rocks, dredging of 15 million cu mt of seabed and reclamation of 50 hectares of land.
The two breakwaters in the first phase include 1.7-km-long northern breakwater to Anjadiv island and a 3.2-km-long southern breakwater to Agra Cape.
The Karwar base would have facilities to "handle a large number of warships and aircraft" along with a dockyard for refit and modernisation of ships and submarines. The first phase of the project is scaled a little over Rs 1,200 crore.
An airstrip is expected to come up in the second phase of the project, besides housing facilities, hospital and other allied activities.
With the establishment of a new base, the forces would be in a geographically better position to monitor and defend crucial maritime and wartime shipping routes on the Arabian sea, a source said adding that Karwar’s hilly terrain would also be a boon. (UNI)
MUMBAI, Dec 15/2001:
Several warships of the Western Naval Command (WNC) would be shifted from Mumbai to the new naval base at Karwar on the Karnataka coast by 2005-06, when the first phase of project ‘Seabird’ is completed.
"The work is on in full swing and we expect that some of the ships of the WNC will be shifted to the new base by 2005-06," senior Indian Navy officials have said.
WNC officials, who have been directly involved with the ‘Seabird’, said the project would cover 8,000 acres and occupy around 28 km of the coastline, and the deep draught would facilitate berthing of larger vessels.
According to officials, the rationale behind setting up a new futuristic naval base with state-of-the-art facilities on the western coast was its strategic location.
"The WNC is headquartered in Mumbai. We have two ports, the Mumbai Port and the Nahva Sheva Port, at a very close distance. One aim is to decongest the shores," an official said.
Moreover, the rapidly expanding Indian navy would need more space, with the Government sanctioning a 30-year submarine building programme, along with new ships such as project 17 (stealth ships) and project 15-alpha.
"We are expanding and will need berthing space and also dock and repair facilities, and hence the new base at Karwar will go a long way," the officials stated adding that in a short span of time, the fleet would almost be doubled. The new Harbour would be about 500 nautical miles away from the wnc headquarters in Mumbai, home to most of the ships and submarines, including aircraft carrier INS Viraat, the Delhi-class destroyers and a mix of warships.
The officials said construction of the new base would involve three 5.5 km breakwaters, quarrying granite rocks, dredging of 15 million cu mt of seabed and reclamation of 50 hectares of land.
The two breakwaters in the first phase include 1.7-km-long northern breakwater to Anjadiv island and a 3.2-km-long southern breakwater to Agra Cape.
The Karwar base would have facilities to "handle a large number of warships and aircraft" along with a dockyard for refit and modernisation of ships and submarines. The first phase of the project is scaled a little over Rs 1,200 crore.
An airstrip is expected to come up in the second phase of the project, besides housing facilities, hospital and other allied activities.
With the establishment of a new base, the forces would be in a geographically better position to monitor and defend crucial maritime and wartime shipping routes on the Arabian sea, a source said adding that Karwar’s hilly terrain would also be a boon. (UNI)
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