INS Betwa (F39)

INS Betwa (F39) is a Brahmaputra-class guided missile frigate currently in service with the Indian Navy. The ship is named for the Betwa River.

For other ships with the same name, see INS Betwa.

Betwa at anchor in 2011
Betwa at anchor in 2011
History
India
NameINS Betwa
NamesakeBetwa River
BuilderGarden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE)
Launched26 February 1998
Commissioned7 July 2004[1]
Identification
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and typeBrahmaputra-class guided missile frigate
Displacement3850 tons full load
Length126.4 m (414 ft 8 in)
Beam14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
Draught4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
PropulsionTwo Bhopal turbines, 30,000 hp (22,000 kW), two 550 psi boilers and two shafts
SpeedIn excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement440–450 (incl. 40 officers + 13 aircrew)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Air/Surface; 1 x AMDR Radar at S-band frequency
  • Air;1 x Bharat/Signaal RAWL-02 (PLN 517) radar at D-band frequency using a LW08 antenna
  • Navigation;1 x Decca Bridgemaster, 2 x Vision Master I band radar
  • 1 × Bharat HUMSA-NG sonar; 1 x Thales Sintra sonar 2 x Kavach Chaff Launchers and 1 x BEL Radar Warning Receiver Suite
Armament
  • 16 × Kh-35 (SS-N-25 Switchblade) AShMs (4 x quadruple KT-184 launchers)
  • 2 × 8 Barak SAM VLS system
  • 1 × OTO Melera Super Rapid 76mm main gun
  • 4 × 6-barrelled 30mm AK-630 Gatling guns
  • 6 × 324mm ILAS 3 (2 x triple tubes) with Whitehead A244S anti-submarine torpedoes
Aircraft carried

Operations
The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Madhvendra Singh commissioned the INS Betwa, a guided missile frigate built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, in Kolkata on July 7, 2004

Operation Sukoon

Betwa was a part of Task Force 54, returning from the Mediterranean, when the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict broke out. As a part of Operation Sukoon, Betwa participated in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus.

Cyclone Tauktae Rescue Operations

The ship took part in search and rescue operations in the wake of Cyclone Tauktae in May 2021.[2]

Incidents


On 4 January 2014, the ship hit an unidentified object underwater and cracked the sonar dome, and had also seen salt water ingress into sensitive equipment.[3] [4]

On 5 December 2016, Betwa slipped off support blocks and over onto its port side when refloating and undocking inside the cruiser graving dock at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai during refit repairs, killing 2 sailors and injuring 15 others.[5] The ship's main mast was also damaged.[4][6][7]

Sources initially reported that the salvage and repair of the ship would take approximately two years.[8] Resolve Marine Engineering, a US-based firm, was contracted to salvage the flooded vessel in January 2017 for a sum of Rs. 20 Crore (200 million Indian Rupees, approximately USD 3 million at the time).[9]

On 22 February 2017, it was reported that the ship was made upright and refloated.[10] Betwa was restored to an upright position by the US salvage company by systematically flooding and pumping her compartments without using any external lifting mechanisms.[11] Three Naval Officers were court martialed and found guilty of negligence.

It was reported on 10 January 2021 that a 22 year old sailor on the ship died from a bullet injury, allegedly due to suicide.[12]

References
  1. "Brahmaputra Class, Godavari Class". Indian Navy. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  2. "37 dead, 38 from barge off Mumbai still missing; Navy continues search". The Economic Times.
  3. Purohit, Jugal R (24 January 2014). "What ails the Indian Navy's blue water aspirations?". India Today. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. "2 dead, 15 hurt as INS Betwa tips over during undocking". rediff. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  5. "Indian Navy Frigate Tips Over in Graving Dock". The Maritime Executive. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  6. Presley, Thomas (5 December 2016). "INS Betwa slips at Naval dockyard". Mumbai: Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  7. "In Mega-Accident, Warship INS Betwa Flips Over, 2 Sailors Dead". NDTV. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  8. Som, Vishnu (6 December 2016). "Navy Plans To Salvage Rs. 600 Crore INS Betwa Which Lies On Its Side Flooded". NDTV. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  9. "Rs 20cr deal to lift INS Betwa". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  10. "INS Betwa back on even keel". rediff. 22 February 2017.
  11. "Indian Navy's Warship INS Betwa Restored To Upright Position After Capsized In Mumbai". Marine Insight. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. "22-year-old Navy sailor found dead due to bullet injury in Mumbai".
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