Indian Submarine SINDUGOSH Left ZVEZDOCHKA shipyard (Russian North) And Bound For Home - 13 November, 2005

Severodvinsk shipyard «ZVEZDOCHKA» (Arkhangelsk region) made its farewell to the repaired and updated Indian submarine SINDUGOSH. Three years required to the enterprise and its Indian associates for the submarine revival. The 15-years old boat bound for home base via three oceans. The solemn departure ceremony of Indian ship for ZVEZDOCHKA is quite habitual. SINDUGOSH is the third in this account, succeeding SINDUVIR and SINDURATNA. Even now the stocks of the yard shop No10 are not empty, the fourth boat SINDUVIDJAY has come for updating last summer. The local experts and workers are not confusing by the exotic names.

More over they treat the boats like their own children. Every child needs not only to be cared but also to be learned how to go... at sea again. SINDUGOSH passed the full programme of complete testing. Four times she passed the sea trials, including testing of the new cruise missile complex "Club-S".

SINDUGOSH was the first boat to be fitted with the Indian made navigational equipment. This kind of co-operation has to be followed and even increased on the succeeding ships. Just in the beginning of October the series of contracts have been signed in India concerning the fifth submarine refit. It will take place in the Indian HINDUSTAN shipyard, where ZVEZDOCHKA was fixed as a head executive.

The seagoing capacities of SINDUGOSH have been highly evaluated at the farewell ceremony by the White Sea Naval base commander vice-admiral Oleg Tregubov. The representative of ROSOBORONEXPORT in Severodvinsk Vadim Pashin has marked the harmonious joint work of Russian and Indian experts. Parting wishes to Indian seamen and ZVEZDOCHKA's specialists staying aboard from vice-admiral and of the Hero of the Soviet Union Lev Matushkin has sounded very touchingly.

The journalists those present could hardly fix interesting and unforgettable moments of commander Archie Sudip transfer of a ring-buoy from the leaving submarine to the shipyard history museum or delivery of St: Nicholas icon by Nickolai Kalistratov -General Director of ZVEZDOCHKA to their representative aboard - Igor Tsvetkov.

The orthodox icon will preserve underway both the crew and the boat herself. But the most exciting moment for everybody was the boat's departure to the open sea. The water stripe separating ship from the pier inexorably grows. Those leaving ashore are waving - Fair Wind and Bon Voyage!

Such a special gift has been made to itself by the General Department of military-technical co-operation of Russian Ministry of Defence celebrating now its 10-th anniversary.

Nadejda Sherbinina