Project Seabird

Context:

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reviews development works at Karwar Naval Base under ‘Project Seabird’.

RM says it will be Asia’s largest Naval Base and further strengthen the operational readiness of the Armed Forces

About:

• INS Kadamba is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka.
• The first phase of construction of the base, code-named Project Seabird, was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 31 May 2005. 
• Development of Phase II commenced in 2011.
• INS Kadamba is currently the third largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase IIB.

History:

• During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists. At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns.
• Alternative locations for a base on the west coast were evaluated, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Thoothukudi
• In the early 1980s, then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson conceived of a dedicated naval base sandwiched between the craggy hills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea near Karwar in Karnataka state.
• Located south of the naval bases in Mumbai and Goa and north of Kochi, the location had significant advantages as being very close to the world’s busiest shipping route between the Persian Gulf and east Asia and out of range of most strike aircraft from neighbouring countries.
• It also offered a natural deep-water harbour and significant land area for expansion, allowing larger aircraft carriers to berth.
• However, due to a variety of reasons, including the 1991 economic crisis, development was delayed.

Significance:

INS Kadamba is an integrated strategic naval base of the Indian Navy. Located on the western coast of India, the base can accommodate the operational fleet of Western Naval Command and reduce the traffic in the existing naval base located at Mumbai.

INS Kadamba is India’s third functional naval base after those in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. The base, which fully complies with the MARPOL regulations, was first built in 2005. A second phase of development to expand the facilities at the base is expected to commence in 2012.

Source: The Hindu