INS Prahar (K98)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Indian Navy |
|
| Name: | INS Prahar |
| Builder: | Goa Shipyard Limited |
| Commissioned: | 1 March 1997 |
| Out of service: | 22 April 2006 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: K98 |
| Fate: | Sunk in collision |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Veer-class corvette |
| Displacement: | 455 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 56 m (184 ft) |
| Beam: | 10.5 m (34 ft) |
| Draught: | 2.5 m (8.2 ft) |
| Propulsion: | COGAG |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 1,650 mi (2,660 km) |
| Complement: | 41 (incl 5 officers) |
INS Prahar was a Veer-class corvette of the Indian Navy.[1]
Operations
In October 1999, the Panamanian-registered Japanese cargo ship, MV Alondra Rainbow was hijacked by pirates off Indonesia. The crew were left adrift and rescued off Phuket, Thailand. The ship carrying aluminum ingots was re-painted as MV Mega Rama. She was spotted off Kochi, sailing towards the Pakistan coast. She was chased by ICGS Tarabai of the Indian Coast Guard, but the small-arms fire of Tarabai failed to stop the vessel.
Prahar joined the operation, and fired a shell which started a fire in the hijacked ship's engine room. The pirates attempted to scuttle the ship, but she was boarded by the crew of Prahar and Tarabai. The pirates were arrested and the Alondra Rainbow was rescued and towed to Mumbai.[2]
Collision
On 22 April 2006 INS Prahar collided with the container ship MV Rajiv Gandhi, and sank off the coast of Goa. No one was injured in the accident. The commanding officer of the ship, Lieutenant Commander Yogesh Tripathi was found guilty of negligence by an Indian Navy court-martial, and dismissed from service.[3]
