INS Pondicherry, the first minesweeper of her class (Yard No. 852), was handed over by Rear Admiral Pranze, Deputy C-in-C, Baltic Sea Fleet, on behalf of the Government of erstwhile USSR at Riga to Commodore MN Vasudeva, AVSM, Naval Attache, Embassy of India, Moscow, on 02 February 1978.
Subsequently, the ship was commissioned by Commander SJ Contractor and named by Mrs Devika, wife of Mr J Teja, Minister of Embassy of India, Moscow. She participated in #SAR Operations off Cochin on 16 July 1983, named Operation ‘Talash’, to locate the wreck and recover a crashed helicopter.
The ship took part in MCM Operations off Bombay, codenamed ‘Saaf Rasta’ from 18 to 23 February 1984. The ship also had the rare honour of being the President’s Yacht for President’s Fleet Review in 1984 as well as in 1989. She was decommissioned on 05 October 2007.
Source: The Dispatch
Image Courtesy: Spansen
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