G20 podium
Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: India has gifted a fully operational warship, INS Kirpan, to Vietnam as part of India’s G20 vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future”.
The decommissioning and handing over ceremony of the warship was presided over by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff of Indian Navy, and Rear Admiral Pham Manh Hung, Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff, Vietnam People’s Navy, at Cam Ranh, Vietnam.
INS Kirpan, commissioned in 1991, has been an integral part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet and has participated in many operations over the last 32 years. Manned by about 12 officers and 100 sailors, the ship is 90 meters long and 10.45 meters in width with a maximum displacement of 1450 tons. The ship has been handed over to the Vietnam People’s Navy with a complete weapon complement.
Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Kumar said, “It is a matter of great honour for me to be a part of the handing over ceremony of one of the finest and longest-serving warships of the Indian Navy – Kirpan, to the esteemed Vietnam People’s Navy.
On behalf of the Indian Navy, it is my privilege to extend a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests. The transfer of Kirpan to the Vietnam People’s Navy resonates with India’s G20 vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future”
The transfer of INS Kirpan symbolises the status of Indian Navy of being the ‘preferred security partner’ in the Indian Ocean region and would definitely be a catalyst for enhancing the existing bilateral relations between the two navies, said a Navy statement.
