Visakhapatnam: The wreckage of PNS Ghazi, the Pakistani submarine that sunk on December 4, 1971, during the India-Pakistan war, was recently found off the coast of Visakhapatnam, by a newly-acquired Indian Navy deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV).
The Tench-class submarine, which previously served in the US Navy as USS Diablo, was found approximately 2 to 2.5 km offshore at a depth of around 100 metres. The Indian Navy has decided not to disturb the submarine out of respect for those who lost their lives in action, adhering to true Navy tradition, according to a Times of India report.
With 93 personnel on board (including 11 officers and 82 sailors), the sinking of PNS Ghazi was regarded as a significant event during the conflict between India and Pakistan, culminating in the birth of Bangladesh in 1972. PNS Ghazi was deployed by Pakistan to mine India’s eastern seaboard and to track, monitor, and potentially sink INS Vikrant, India’s British-built Majestic-class aircraft carrier.
Departing from Karachi on November 14, 1971, Ghazi undertook a covert journey spanning 4,800 km around the Indian peninsula to arrive at the coast of Vizag.
While India deployed INS Rajput, which monitored Ghazi’s movements and deployed depth charges, resulting in its sinking, the Pakistani military holds a contrasting perspective, attributing the sinking to accidental explosions.
Besides PNS Ghazi resting on the floor of the Bay of Bengal near Vizag, another submarine, a vessel of the Imperial Japanese Navy (RO-110), was sunk off the coast of Rambilli locality, in the former Vizag district, during World War II on February 12, 1944. HMAS Launceston and HMIS Jumna were responsible for sinking the submarine using depth charges.
A veteran naval person mentioned that two submarines rest at the seabed near the Vizag coastline. “However, the Navy has not touched the Japanese submarine as naval personnel strongly believe that it is the final resting place of the brave souls, and we let them rest in peace,” he was quoted as saying by the national daily.
Notably, The Ghazi Attack, a Telugu-Hindi bilingual production, released in 2017 had revisited the sinking of the Pakistani submarine in 1971. The plot of 2018 movie, Raazi, also revolved around an Indian spy, who tipped India about the impending strike on INS Vikrant.
