INS Magar, the oldest Landing Ship Tank (Large) of the Indian Navy, laid her oars at the Naval Base here on Saturday, after serving the nation for 36 years.
The ship commanded by Cdr. Hemant V. Salunkhe was decommissioned at a sunset ceremony held at the Naval Base. Vice Admiral M.A. Hampiholi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, who had commanded the ship from 2005 to 2006 was the chief guest.
The dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Air Marshal B. Manikantan, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Air Command, serving and retired personnel from the Armed Forces, and officials of the civil administration. The ship’s timeline and special postage cover were also released during the event.
The vessel was commissioned in 1987 at Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers Limited, Kolkata, by late Admiral R.H. Tahiliani. It had the unique distinction of being the first indigenous ship of the Indian Navy. During her service, she participated in numerous operations, amphibious exercises, and humanitarian missions, noteworthy of them being Operation Samudra Setu wherein over 4,000 Indian nationals were repatriated from various corners of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ship was also instrumental in the evacuation of over 1,300 survivors post the tsunami in 2004 and had been part of several joint military exercises with the Indian Army. In 2018, the ship was converted into a training ship and joined the First Training Squadron in Kochi, said a Navy release.
As a precursor to the decommissioning, various outreach activities were organised. They included a blood donation camp in collaboration with the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kochi. A cycle expedition was also conducted from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram.
