Submarine collides with cargo ship

An Indian naval submarine on a routine mission collided with a cargo ship in the Arabian Sea off Pakistan.

The 2500-ton INS Sindhughosh, with a crew of 53, sustained only superficial damage to its conning tower. However, according to naval official, the vessel was seriously damaged. The navy declined to comment on the extent of damage to the Cayman-registered merchant vessel or reveal its current whereabouts. The ship MV Leeds Castle was in restricted waters and in that area the depth is not much and hence the mishap. The submarine has been towed to a naval dockyard at the western Indian city of Mumbai. The naval officials said the submarine was submerged and had its radars off and periscope down when it slammed into the ship off India's Diu Island, 400 nautical miles from Mumbai. Diu lies 70 nautical miles from Pakistani waters. The diesel-powered Sindhughosh, which was acquired from the then Soviet Union in 1986, had returned from Russia last year after an extensive refit. It carries Russian-designed land-attack Klub-S cruise missiles.
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