Indian Mine Sweeper Suffers Fire

December 5, 2013 9:34 AM
Pondicherry-class minesweeper INS Kozhikode (M71). A ship in the same class, INS Konkan, suffered a fire on Wednesday. Indian Navy photo
Pondicherry-class minesweeper INS Kozhikode (M71). A ship in the same class, INS Konkan, suffered a fire on Wednesday. Indian Navy photo

The Indian mine sweeper caught fire while undergoing an overhaul in a shipyard in the city of Visakhapatnam, according to several press reports.

INS Konkan (M72) caught fire on Wednesday at around 4:30 p.m. local time, according to a report in The Hindu newspaper.

“A fire had occurred on the ship reportedly due to a short circuit and fire fighting is going on. There are, however, no casualties in the accident,” Police Commissioner B. Shivadhar Reddy told the newspaper.
Konkan is one of seven Russian built Pondicherry class mine sweepers in the Indian fleet.

The 891-ton ships are heavily armed and field a crew of around 80 sailors.

This is the second ship fire suffered by an Indian ship in dock this year.

In August, a fire about the attack submarine INS Sindhurakshak killed more than 12 sailors.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
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