INS ''Vela'' (S24) () is the fourth

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

of the first batch of six s for the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. It is a diesel-electric

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants, and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies ...

based on the , designed by French naval defence and energy group DCNS and manufactured by

Mazagon Dock Limited Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Shipbuilders Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a company with shipyards situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian ...

, an Indian shipyard in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The first cutting of steel for the submarine began on 14 July 2009, and the ship was launched on 6 May 2019. The submarine was delivered to Indian Navy on 9 November 2021, and formally commissioned into the service by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh on 25 November. The submarine inherits its name from INS ''Vela'' (S40) which served in the Navy from 1973 to 2010, and was the lead ship of the Vela-class. The crew of the INS ''Vela'' (S40) was present at the commissioning ceremony of the INS ''Vela'' (S24). ''Vela'' is the name of an Indian fish from the

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

species known for its aggression and offensive power, and the ability to camouflage itself from predators. The submarine's crest depicts the stingray swimming across the blue seas. The ship's mascot is a sub-ray, a portmanteau of submarine and stingray. The mascot symbolises the "

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

of the submarine’s character with the qualities of a stingray".

Service history

INS ''Vela'' made a port call at

Port of Colombo The Port of Colombo , (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as a ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

for a three day visit from 11 to 13 November 2024 under the command of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Kapil Kumar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela Kalvari-class submarines (2015) 2019 ships Ships built in India

Service history

See also

References