'Dolphin Hunter' INS Anjadip commissioned, to enhance Navy's anti-submarine warfare capabilities

Chennai, Feb 27 (PTI) The Indian Navy on Friday commissioned INS Anjadip, a warship aimed at augmenting its anti-submarine warfare capabilities and coastal surveillance and one that comes with state-of-the-art combat features.

Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi commissioned the ship at the Chennai Port.

This is the third of the eight vessels being built under the anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft project. The ship is packed with an indigenous, cutting-edge Anti-Submarine Warfare weapons and sensor package, including the hull-mounted sonar Abhay, and armed with Lightweight Torpedoes and ASW Rockets.

The vessel is engineered to act as a "Dolphin Hunter", focused on the detection, tracking, and neutralisation of enemy submarines in coastal areas. At the ceremonial induction held at the Chennai Port, Admiral Tripathi formally commissioned the ship in the presence of senior Navy, government officials and other executives.

The 77-metre-long ship features a high-speed water-jet propulsion system, enabling it to achieve a top speed of 25 knots for rapid response and sustained operations.

Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata, INS Anjadip is a state-of-the-art vessel specifically designed to address the challenges of the littoral combat environment--coastal and shallow waters vital for the nation's security, the Navy said.

Besides the Anti-Submarine Warfare role, the warship is also equipped to take up coastal surveillance, Low-Intensity Maritime Operations and Search and Rescue operations.

The induction of INS Anjadip, named after the island off the coast of Karwar in north Karnataka in the Arabian Sea, bolsters the Navy's capacity to safeguard India's vast maritime interests and coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

In his address, Admiral Tripathi said the Navy plans to induct 15 more ships this year, other than INS Anjadip.

"During the year 2025, the Indian Navy commissioned 12 warships and one submarine. This momentum continues with plans to induct about 15 more ships in 2026, setting an unprecedented benchmark and marking the highest rate of induction in our history," he said.

He highlighted the state-of-the-art features in the newly inducted ship.

Anjadip joins the Indian Navy as a befitting successor to her illustrious predecessor, the last of the Petya-class corvettes, which served the nation with distinction across varied operational deployments for nearly three decades from 1972 to 2003, he pointed out.

"Beyond the ship, Anjadip also resonates deeply in our naval history as it bears the name of an island, that stood witness to decisive action by the Indian Navy in Dec 1961 as part of Operation Chutney that culminated in the liberation of Goa. That spirit of resolve, valour, bold action and safeguarding national maritime interests at any cost— is the enduring legacy that this Anjadip carries forward," Admiral Tripathi said.

The country's focus has been on sharpening critical warfighting capabilities - particularly in anti-submarine and under-sea warfare. The platforms inducted over the past year are equipped with highly advanced and sophisticated ASW capabilities.

"Today's commissioning, the fourth of 16 Shallow Water ASW Craft, marks a substantive strengthening of our under-sea warfare capability — particularly in the coastal and littoral waters of the Eastern Seaboard. Anjadip - equipped with state-of-the-art shallow-water sonars, lightweight torpedoes, anti-submarine rockets and Combat Management System - is engineered for agility, precision and combat effectiveness," he said.

The ship and its systems distinctly reflect the growing strength of India's indigenous design and industrial ecosystem, "a clear affirmation of Aatmanirbharta in the vital domains of shipbuilding and under-sea warfare".

On the concept of self-reliance, he said that "from an Indian perspective, self-reliance or Atma Nirbharta is beyond Make in India; it is trust in India." He said that the journey towards Viksit Bhrat (developed India) "unfolds amid a challenging maritime environment around us - characterised by escalating strategic competition, growing contestation across surface, sub-surface, and air domains, and an increasing tendency for continental frictions to spill over into the maritime domain." Further, "the Red Sea crisis showed us how disruption at a single choke point can ripple across continents. Freight rates on key Asia–Europe routes surged - in some cases by as much as 300 to 350 per cent — impacting supply chains and driving up food and fuel costs." "The ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz - a vital global energy corridor - have also reflected this reality. Even a precautionary closure of the strait for live-fire exercises last week, led to Brent crude prices rising by about 4.4 per cent in a single trading session, reaching their highest level in weeks," Admiral Tripathi added.

In such a complex and sensitive security environment, the Indian Navy has been actively ensuring the continuity of our maritime trade and energy flows.

"Since October 2023, our deployments in the Red Sea have enabled the safe transit of nearly 400 merchant vessels, carrying approximately 16.5 million metric tonnes of oil and cargo, worth over USD 7 bn bound for India," he said. PTI VIJ SA