A spokesman of the Eastern Naval Command said there was no clue yet on whether the sailor Vikash Yadav, hailing from Madhya Pradesh, shot himself or if his gun went off accidentally.
"A Board of Inquiry is being constituted to investigate the incident," the spokesman added.
"Vikash, an electrical mechanic of power class 1, sustained a bullet injury while on duty as security sentry in the early hours today. He was immediately shifted to the navy hospital where he was declared brought dead," the Navy spokesman said.
No case is registered yet over the incident with the Visakhapatnam city police, a senior official said.