By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, May 29
The Indian Navy decommissioned INS Gomati (F 21), a Godavari class guided-missile frigate, which was in service for 34 years, in an elegant and solemn ceremony at Naval Dock Yard in South Mumbai at the sunset on Saturday.
The ship was paid off under the command of Captain Sudip Malik. The national flag, naval ensign, and the decommissioning pennant were lowered at sunset in the presence of Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Sigh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, the Chief Guest for the ceremony, and some serving and retired former commanding officers of the ship.
INS Gomati derived her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on April 16, 1988, by then Defence minister K C Pant, at Mazgaon Dock Ltd, Mumbai. The third ship of the Godavari class guided-missile frigates, INS Gomati was also the oldest warrior of the Western Fleet when decommissioned. The earliest avatar of INS Gomati was decommissioned in 1979.
On the occasion Vice Admiral, Ajendra Bahadur Singh said that Gomati was designed by the Indian Navy and built-in an Indian shipyard, and these were initial steps towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). The lessons learnt during the construction of this class of ships helped the Navy develop modern ships today, he added.
The ship was deployed in Operations Cactus, Parakram, and Rainbow and several bilateral and multinational naval exercises. For her remarkable spirit and stellar contribution to national maritime security, she was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, once in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20.
The ship’s legacy will be kept alive in an open-air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of the Gomati river in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics. The Uttar Pradesh government and the Indian Navy have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the same. This will motivate the youth in the northern region to join the Navy, Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh said adding that the INS Gomati will be commissioned in a new avatar in the Indian Navy.