A routine war game in the Arabian Sea almost turned into a tragedy for the Indian Navy after one of its most advanced submarines collided with a merchant ship off the Gujarat coast on Monday. The INS Sindhughosh, a Russian origin Kilo class sub, had a miraculous escape and suffered only ‘minor damages’ after brushing against a massive cargo ship.

While the diesel powered submarine made it back to Mumbai on its own after the incident, sources say that it suffered damage to its fins, periscope and aerials and will remain out of service for at least two months. The merchant ship, identified as MV Leeds, did not suffer any damage in the accident.

A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident but preliminary findings indicate that the submarine suffered a collision as it was trying to surface in shallow waters during the Western Fleet war games. All 53 crew members on board are unhurt in the incident.

Sources say that the 2,500 tonne submarine had switched off sonar as it was in ‘restricted waters’ and its radar was not transmitting as part of the simulated exercise to escape any attention from passing vessels.

“The submarine performed a periscope scan and then proceeded to surface. It seems that the merchant ship did not get detected during the periscope scan. The submarine was operating at a precarious depth and could not dive to escape due to the restricted waters,” a Navy officer said.

However, the mysterious accident is bound to raise controversy as the collision took place in broad daylight — sources say that the ‘minor mishap’ happened on Monday afternoon. Initial findings also say that the merchant ship was not at fault and was operating as per the rules of the sea.

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