Two minesweepers of Indian Navy, INS Karwar and INS Kakinada, were bid adieu at a solemn ceremony at the Naval Dockyard here in presence of Navy Chief Sunil Lanba.
INS Karwar (M67), was the first of the 'Natya' class minesweepers acquired from the erstwhile USSR. Commissioned in the Indian Navy on July 14, 1986 at Riga, (now in Latvia), the ship operated from Vishakhapatnam till 2013 after which she was based at Mumbai.
INS Kakinada (M70), was the second of the class and also commissioned at Riga on December 23, 1986.
Like its sister ship, Kakinada also operated from Vishakhapatnam till 2013 before shifting base port to Mumbai.
Both ships have rendered over 30 years of stellar service to the nation.
The ships have undertaken countless minesweeping missions using both, the older mechanical sweeps as well as the modern side - scan sonars.