Rough sea sends museum submarine back to Chennai port

Chennai: It appears mounting the decommissioned INS Vagli on the shores of Mamalapuramis not going to be smooth. The choppy sea is making it extremely arduous for officials to bring the submarine on to the shore for the prestigious Tamil Nadu Maritime Heritage Museum.

The sea has been rather tumultuous since the past few days posing a challenge to haul it up. Anticipating damage to the vessel owing to the violent sea, TTDC officials brought Vagli back to the port in Chennai.

“We are encountering certain technical problems due to the turbulent waves in bringing it on the shore where a platform is being readied. We can hope to resume the work once the waves become tame,” a senior TTDC official said.

As a result, the Vela Class submarine, decommissioned by the Indian Navy and handed over to the state government for the project, will be berthed at Chennai port. According to sources, the vessel should have been shifted after the platform had been completed. Given the existing sea conditions, it likely the submarine would be towed to Mamallapuram only in June or July to become part of the museum.

The work to fix steel plates to prevent damage to the submarine’s hull while hauling was completed on April 20 and the next day efforts were made to tow it. But as the tumultuous waves deterred plans to pull it, the officials temporarily abandoned work and shifted the vessel to the port here.