Meeting for the first time after the sinking of the INS Sindhurakashak, top officials of the Navy are expected to discuss ways to deal with the falling force levels of its under water fleet.
In the three-day naval commanders conference beginning here tomorrow, the senior officials including Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi are also expected to discuss ways of strengthening coastal security.
The issue of the depleting under-water force level of the force is expected to come up for discussion in the conference, to be inaugurated by Defence Minister A K Antony, defence officials said here.
The Russian-origin INS Sindhurakshak had sunk in the harbour probably due to an explosion in its torpedo compartment on August 14.
The incident occurred at a time when the existing fleet of submarines is getting old and there is still a few years left for the new Scorpene submarines being built at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited to be inducted.
The conference is also expected to review implementation of measures taken by the government in the last five years to plug loopholes in coastal security, they said.
Soon after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, the Defence Ministry had cleared proposals worth over Rs 5,000 crore to strengthen the sea-guarding capabilities of the Coast Guard to prevent such incidents.
The Government has also approved proposals for setting up coastal radar networks along the coastline to pick up suspicious movement of ships.
The first phase has already been completed while work on the second phase is on.
