Missile destroyer 'INS Ranjit' decommissioned

Frontline missile destroyer of the Indian Navy'INS Ranjit' was decommissioned Monday at the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam, after serving the Indian navy for 36 years.

INS Ranjit, the third of the five Kashin-class destroyers built by the erstwhile USSR, was commissioned on September 15 1983.

The ship was decommissioned ata solemn ceremony at the Naval Dockyard when the national flag, naval ensign and Commissioning Pennant were lowered.

The Chief Guest was Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral (Retd) Devendra Kumar Joshi, who was also a part of the commissioning crew.

The Ceremony was graced by 16 officers and 10 sailors from the commissioning crewand 23 erstwhile Commanding Officers.

The ship has been helmed by 27 commanding officers and the last CO, Captain Vikram C Mehra, has been in command since June 6 2017.

Since being commissioned, INS Rajat has sailed for 2,190 days, covering over 7,43,000 nautical miles, equivalent to navigating around the world 35 times and 3.5 times the distance from the earth to the moon, the release said.

The ship was at the forefront of major naval operations and served on both the Eastern and Western seaboards.

Apart from naval operations like 'Op Talwar' and various multinational exercises, the ship participated in relief operations post Tsunami in 2004 and Hud-hud on 2014.

In recognition of the service rendered by INS Ranjit to the nation, the ship was awarded Unit Citations by the Chief of Naval Staff in 2003-04 and in 2009-10.