INS ''Vela'' (S40) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of four diesel-electric

Vela-class submarine ''Vela''-class submarines of the Indian Navy were variants of the later Soviet s. The last of the class was decommissioned from the Indian Navy in December 2010. The submarines formed the 8th Submarine Squadron and were based at INS Virbahu. ...

s of 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 ...

. The submarine was commissioned on 31 August 1973 in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

. Along with her sister ship ''Vagli'', she spent almost 10 years undergoing a protracted refit by

Hindustan Shipyard Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is a public sector undertaking shipyard located in Visakhapatnam, on the east coast of India. HSL is a major shipyard in India, with a capacity to manufacture vessels up to 80,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT). The s ...

. After 37 years of service, the submarine was decommissioned on 25 June 2010. The submarine was claimed by the

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

to be the oldest operational submarine in the world at the time of her decommissioning. ''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.

References

Vela-class submarines 1972 ships Foxtrot-class submarines Ships built in the Soviet Union Museums in Chennai {{India-mil-stub