Indian Navy’s newly-acquired Deep Submergence Recovery Vehicle (DSRV) has found the wreckage of the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi, which sank on December 4, 1971, during the India-Pakistan war.
The Tench-class submarine, previously known as USS Diablo, was found at a depth of roughly 100 metres, about 2 to 2.5 kilometres off the shore. However, in true Navy tradition, the Indian Navy refused to touch it to honour those who perished in action, TOI reported.
During the 1971 war, Pakistan had sent PNS Ghazi to lay mines on the eastern coast of India and attack INS Vikrant, the aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. The sub was sent from Karachi on 14 November 1971, and had reached the coast near Vizag. India dispatched the destroyer INS Rajput, which located and followed the Pakistani submarine and dropped depth charges, causing it to sink. PNS Ghazi was sunk on the night of December 4-5, 1971. The sinking of the PNS Ghazi, which had 93 men on board, was a watershed moment in the war that ended with the creation of Bangladesh in 1972.
However, Pakistan denies that the submarine was hit by the Indian Navy, claiming that it sank due to an accidental explosion.
Notably, PNS Ghazi is not the only submarine found on the bottom of the Bay of Bengal near Vizag. A Japanese submarine of World War II, 12 February 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s RO-110, was also sunk off the coast of Rambilli in Vizag, and this submarine also has been located. The Japanese submarine was sunk by HMAS Launceston and HMIS Jumna using depth charges. Before it was destroyed, RO-110 had sunk British merchant ship Daisy Moller, and had attacked a convoy of the allied forces. After this, the submarine was chased by HMAS Launceston and HMIS Jumna, and it was finally hit off the coast of Visakhapatnam.
Veteran naval personnel stated that two submarines were lying at the bottom of the water near the Vizag coast. “However, the Navy has not touched the Japanese submarine as naval personnel strongly believe that it is the final resting place of the brave souls, and we let them rest in peace,” TOI quoted them as saying.
Vizag is one of the few coastal cities with deep inlets that provide anchorage for seafaring ships, with an average depth of approximately 16 metres. While over 40 countries have submarines, only a few have achieved the ability to deploy a DSRV. These vehicles can carry out submarine rescue operations at depths of up to 1,000 metres. India now operates two DSRVs, which can be shipmounted or transported.
The DSRV system, which uses cutting-edge Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), can identify a submarine at depths of up to 1,000 metres. Upon successfully locating the submarine, another DSRV submodule, the Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV), mates with it to rescue the trapped people. The SRV can also be used to deliver emergency supplies to the submarine.
