Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he sought a more detailed enquiry into the sinking of a naval ship off the Vishakapatnam coast, as incidents of ships sinking within one year of being commissioned was ‘unacceptable’.
“losing the lives of five naval personnel and the ship in less than one year is unacceptable. Therefore I have asked that a more detailed enquiry be conducted. I have also asked to see if the vessel can be salvaged and re-floated,” Parrikar told reporters during a visit to the Goa Shipyard ltd at Vasco da Gama around 35 kms by road from Panaji.
GSl is the Navy’s largest facility for building Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels and is run by the Defence Ministry.
Five naval personnel had drowned along with the Torpedo Rescue vessel, following which a Board of Inquiry had already been initiated by naval authorities. In a jab at former Defence Minister AK Antony, Parrikar said that he intends to quicken the pace of decisions without by-passing any Government protocols.
“It’s important to have a clean image. But it’s not right to seek to keep image clean by simply not doing anything or refraining from taking any decisions,” Parrikar said.