INS Vindhyagiri (F42)

INS Vindhyagiri (F42)
Career	Indian Navy
Name:	INS Vindhyagiri
Commissioned:	8 July 1981
Decommissioned:	11 June 2012
Honours and awards:	Served as flagship of Western Fleet in its prime.
Fate:	Capsized after collision
Status:	Salvaged and Decommissioned
General characteristics
Class & type:	Nilgiri-class frigate
Displacement:	2682 tons (standard) 2962 tons (full load)
Length:	113 m
Beam:	13 m
Draught:	4.3 m
Propulsion:	2 x 550 psi boilers 2 x 30,000 hp motors
Speed:	28 knots
Range:	4000 miles @ 12 knots
Complement:	267 (incl 17 officers)
Sensors and processing systems:	Signaal DA05 / BEL PFN513 radar Signaal LW08 / BEL RAWL02 surface radar Signaal ZW06 / BEL RASHMI navigation radar Signaal M-45 navigation radar Westinghouse SQS-505 / Graesby 750 sonar Type 170 active attack sonar
Armament:	2 x MK.6 Vickers 115mm guns 4 x AK-230 30mm guns 2 x Oerlikon 20mm guns 2 x triple ILAS 3 324 mm torpedo tubes with Whitehead A244S or the Indian NST-58 torpedoes
Aircraft carried:	1 Westland Sea King or HAL Chetak

INS Vindhyagiri (F42) was a Nilgiri-class frigate of the Indian Navy. Vindhyagiri was commissioned on 8 July 1981, but capsized after colliding with a merchant vessel on 30 January 2011. It was subsequently salvaged and then decommissioned on June 11, 2012. It served for 31 years in the navy and in its prime served as the flagship of the Western Naval Command. It was decommissioned a year earlier than envisaged due to the collision.

January 2011 collision

On 30 January 2011, it collided with a Cyprus flag merchant ship MV Nordlake near Sunk Rock lighthouse at the entrance of Mumbai harbour at 3:30 pm. It is reported that several civilians including family members of the crew were on board at the time of the incident. No casualties were reported. A major fire broke out due to the collision which took more than 15 hours to control. It also caused a major crack in the hull of the ship.

On 31 January 2011, the ship sank due to the damage caused by the fire.

INS Vindhyagiri settled on the sea bed at the Mumbai Naval Dockyard due to flooding in some of its compartments. "The place where the ship is berthed hardly has enough water. It is just seven metres deep. The ship touched the bottom because of flooding in some compartments. She is on the sea bed. Of course, she can be recovered," Chief Public Relations Officer (Defence) Captain M. Nambiar told The Hindu.

After spending close to five months on the seabed at Berth No 5 in Mumbai Naval Dockyard, the ship was raised from the seabed by the help of a giant floating crane.

Decommissioning

On 8 May 2012, the Bombay High Court granted permission to the Indian Navy to decommission and destroy the ship after one ammunition chamber could not be emptied. It is due to be expended as a target. The ship was decommissioned subsequently on 11 June 2012.