Tall ship INS Sudarshini was inducted into the First Training Squadron of the Navy at a low-key function held at the Southern Naval Command on jan27.
The three-masted sail training ship — the second of the Navy and a follow-on ship of INS Tarangini that joined the Southern Naval Command in 1997 — was commissioned by Vice-Admiral Krishnan Nair Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command.
Designed by British naval architect and yacht designer Colin Mudie and built by the Goa Shipyard, INS Sudarshini has an overall length of 54 metre. It has 20 sails, 7.5 kms of rope and 1.5 km of steel wire rope and can be deployed for up to 20 days at a stretch. Captained by Commander P.K. Boyiri Varma, the ship has a complement of five officers and 31 sailors. It can embark 30 cadets for training.
