INS Betwa restored to upright position, to be operational by April 2018

INS Betwa, a Brahmaputra-class guided missile frigate that had suffered a major mishap, after it tipped over and fell while being undocked at the Mumbai's Naval Dockyard on December 5, 2016, has finally been set upright, Indian Navy said in a statement.

Read: INS Betwa: What could have gone wrong during the undocking of the guided missile frigate that tipped over and fell?

Navy said the frigate was put on an even keel due to the efforts by Naval Dockyard and the specially contracted salvage firm, M/s Resolve Marine.

The naval vessel was undergoing repair when it "keeled on to her side," Navy said. The salvage operations were carried out on "war footing" and initial stabilisation was achieved by December 29, 2016.

Salvaging the vessel involved several complex operations of hydrodynamic calculations and rigging up, the vessel was turned upright in two months.

When the vessel tipped over, majority of the equipment and machinery were removed for replacement or servicing. The ship was undergoing its refit and mid-life upgradation.

Navy said it was confident of its in-house expertise in making the vessel operational by April 2018.

INS Betwa, weighing 3,850 tonne killed two sailors when it turned turtle.14 were rescued and had suffered minor injuries. The job of a guided missile frigate is to escort larger ships and act as fleet defence platform.

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