Two minesweepers of the Indian Navy - INS Karwar and INS Kakinada - were today decommissioned after being in service for over 30 years.
The two ships were bid adieu at a ceremony in the Naval Dockyard here in presence of Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.
INS Karwar was the first of the 'Natya' class minesweepers acquired from the erstwhile USSR. The ship was commissioned on July 14, 1986.
INS Kakinada was the second of the class and was commissioned on December 23, 1986.
"Both ships have rendered over 30 years of stellar service to the nation. The ships have undertaken countless minesweeping missions using both, the older mechanical sweeps as well as the modern Side-scan SONARS," the Navy said in a statement.
With the decommissioning of the two minesweepers, the Navy is now left with a fleet of four Soviet-origin minesweeping ships will also be decommissioned by the end of 2018.
A parliamentary standing committee on defence recently had criticised the government on the issue and asked it to make efforts to fill the gap in the Navy's capability.
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