Second Damage Control Simulator Built by Goa Shipyard for Indian Navy Commissioned

In yet another milestone on the road to diversification, a state –of –the art Damage Control Simulator “ AVINASH”, indigenously designed and built by Goa Shipyard Ltd was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 12 April 2012. VAdm K N Sushil Flag Officer Commanding -in –Chief Southern Naval Command did the honours at an impressive ceremony held at Seamanship School , Naval Base , Kochi .

“AVINASH” is the second DCS built by GSL for the Indian Navy, a month ahead of schedule. The facility is aimed at providing Naval officers and Sailors with a first hand experience of potential dangers on a ship at sea. The simulator designed like a section of an actual warship, with three decks, is supported by a captive power plant of 500KW and modern control systems equipped with CCTV to monitor the entire training imparted to seamen .

The DCS is essentially a training system that simulates a realistic and stressful but controlled environment for crew training in ship damage control and repair in various damage scenarios. In real-life operational service, there is the possibility of ship damage in times of both war and peace. To contain the damage and save the vessel, the crew needs to be able to respond to the threat with efficiency, expertise and confidence gained from training in similar situations. The realistic damage scenarios and sense of crisis generated on board the DCS contributes invaluably in inculcating the ability to “think on their feet” amongst the trainees besides improving their team building skills, thereby preparing them for the unforeseen hardships and emergencies that may emerge at sea.

RAdm S Y Srikhande Chief of Staff Southern Naval Command, the Shri S. Ananthasyanam Offg. CMD Goa Shipyard Ltd, Cmde (Retd) P K S Shrivastava VSM Director (CPP& BD) Goa Shipyard Ltd, representatives of IHQ MOD ( Navy), besides Senior officers from Seamanship School , Kochi were present during the commissioning ceremony.

It will be recalled that the first DCS was commissioned at NBCD School, INS Shivaji Lonavla on December 18, 2001 . It is one of the most sophisticated facility in Asia and one of the few existing world-wide.

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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, April 18, 2012; Image: goashipyard