Demolition of historic Indian Navy ship INS-Sindhudhvaj begins at Kerala's Azhikkal

Kannur: The demolition of INS-Sindhudhvaj, a historic submarine that served the Indian Navy for the last three decades, Has begun at Steel Industries Kerala Limited (SILK) - a Public sector unit at Azhikkal, officials said.

The ship was a part of the Indian Navy from 1987 to 2023.

The demolition process is expected to be completed within six months, said SILK Chairman Muhammed Iqbal.

Addressing a press conference here, Muhammed Iqbal and Managing Director T G Ullas claimed that this is the first time that a submarine of the Naval Force has been demolished in the country.

A team of 25 specialised workers in this field began the demolition process on the front portion of the vessel on July 16. The demolition is being carried out by adhering to government and environmental regulations.

The "Sindhudhvaj", weighing about 2000 tonnes, was brought to Azhikkal on April 4 from Visakhapatnam, after an agency named Sithara Traders purchased it through an open tender, following the vessel's decommissioning on July 16, 2023.

Later, the Sithara Traders handed it over to SILK for the demolition process. The SILK was expecting an income of Rs 40 lakhs from this duty, said Ullas.

This process would also help to yield recyclable materials including tonnes of steel, Copper and Aluminium.

The Azhikkal SILK unit has experience of manufacturing 65 boats and demolishing 60 vessels. SILK was anticipating more orders from the Cochin Shipyard, Railways and BEML in the coming days, he added.