India Loses Warship After Fire and Capsize

The Indian military has ordered an investigation into the partial sinking of a naval ship after the vessel caught fire and capsized in port on Sunday.

The blaze on board the 410-foot guided missile frigate INS Brahmaputra, the lead ship of its class, was brought under control by the following morning, but at least one junior sailor remained missing as of Tuesday, India’s defense officials said.

An Indian navy statement carried by local news outlets said the fire broke out while the Brahmaputra was undergoing refit and maintenance at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard on the country’s west coast.

“Despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to an upright position. The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side,” the service said.

Social media images shared to X (formerly Twitter) around the time of the incident showed flames and plumes of dark smoke rising from the docked warship.

The following day, pictures showed the frigate partially submerged on its port side.

India’s navy chief, Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, visited the site of the accident on Tuesday and ordered a review. His deputy, Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, said the missing sailor was “seen coming out of the ship,” but his later whereabouts were unknown.

The Indian navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment out of hours.

The Brahmaputra was launched 30 years ago and commissioned in 2000 as a multirole ship equipped for air defense and surface warfare. It can launch and recover helicopters with anti-submarine capabilities.

While the 5,300-ton naval vessel was rendered inoperable, it was still unclear whether the accident would knock it out of commission for good.

In 2016, the Brahmaputra-class frigate INS Betwa tipped onto its port side while being refloated in dry dock at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, killing two and injuring 15 sailors. The ship was refloated three months later.

In 2013, at the same shipyard, a fire and explosion on board the Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhurakshak resulted the deaths of 18 crew and the loss of the boat.

The latest blow to New Delhi comes as India’s navy grows its role as a security contributor, most recently by helping to protect commercial ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

Amid growing strategic competition with China, India was also among the first sea powers to adopt the Indo-Pacific moniker, a defense planning concept that treats the expansive Indian and Pacific oceans as one theater.