New Delhi, May 3: After serving the Indian Navy for 36 years, its front-line missile destroyer- INS Ranjit will be decommissioned on May 6 at the naval dockyard at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The ship was commissioned in the fleet of Indian Navy on 15th September 1983. The ship, which is the third of the five Kashin-class destroyers, was built by erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics  (USSR). Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command HQ PRO Capt CG Raju informed that Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi will be the chief guest on the occasion. INS Vikrant  'Will Be Delivered to Indian Navy by 2021', Says Admiral Sunil Lanba.

According to a release by the Navy, on May 9, after the sun sets, the naval ensign and the commissioning pennant would be lowered for the last time onboard INS Ranjit, symbolising the end of the Ranjit era in the Indian Navy.

Here's all you need to know about the INS Ranjit:

  • The ship was commissioned as INS Ranjit on September 15, 1983 with Captain Vishnu Bhagwat at the helm.

  • INS Ranjit is the third of the five Kashin-class destroyers built by erstwhile USSR.

  • With a motto of 'Sada Rane Jayate' or 'Ever Victorious in Battle', INS Ranjit has been at the forefront in keeping the nation secure.

  • The ship was also actively deployed as part of relief operations post-2004 tsunami and cyclone Hud-Hud in 2014.

  • In recognition of her service, the ship was awarded Unit Citation in 2003-04 and 2009-10, a release by the Indian Navy said.

  • The ship has been manned by 27 commissions with the last commission taking charge of the ship on June 6, 2017.

After the ship joined the Indian Navy fleet in 1983, Captain Vishnu Bhagwat went on to serve as the Chief of Naval Staff during 1996-98. In the last 36 years, the ship has the distinction of serving in both western and eastern seaboard and has been the flagship of both the western and eastern fleets.  Some of the key operations undertaken by INS Ranjit include IPKF operations and Operation Talwar during the Kargil conflict. In 2003, the ship was deployed off Mozambique to provide security cover to the African Union Summit.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 03, 2019 02:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).