VISAKHAPATNAM:
INS Ranjit
, a Rajput class destroyer was decommissioned at a solemn yet grand ceremony at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam after having rendered 36 years service on Monday.
The decommissioning ceremony was attended by officers and sailors of the commissioning crew as well as others who have been part of Ranjit’s voyage over the last 36 years. At sunset, the national flag, naval ensign and commissioning pennant were lowered for one last time onboard.
The chief guest for the decommissioning ceremony was Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, lieutenant governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Admiral Joshi too had once been a part of the commissioning crew. The decommissioning ceremony was graced by 16 officers and 10 sailors from the commissioning crew and 23 erstwhile commanding officers. The ship was commissioned on 15 September,1983 by Captain Vishnu Bhagwat in erstwhile USSR. Since her commissioning, the ship has sailed for 2,190 days covering a distance of over 7,43,000 nautical miles, which is equivalent to navigating around the world 35 times and 3.5 times the distance from Earth to Moon.
Apart from various naval operations like Op Talwar the ship has also been a flag bearer of the
Indian Navy's benign role by participating in relief operations post Tsunami in 2004 and Hudhud in 2014.