Article Posted on : - Mar 04, 2014

NEW DELHI (PTI): In view of 10 mishaps in its warships in last seven months, the Indian Navy said it has taken several measures to enhance security of its assets including safety checks of weapon systems and audit of the standard operating procedures (SOP).

To promote a "safety culture", the force said it has also decided that "one-time safety audits will be conducted prior to the operational deployment of any ship or submarine."

"Post recent incidents onboard submarines, safety stand-downs and extensive checks on weapon related safety systems and audit of SOPs on all operational submarines were ordered," the Navy said in a release.

"As an added step, Naval Headquarters directed conduct of safety 'stand-down' and a one-time safety audits prior operational deployment of any ship or submarine. This has since been institutionalised as a regular annual audit for all operational units," it said.

The force said in event of an accident or an incident, it is "thoroughly investigated to not just identify any errors, but more importantly, to address critical areas on material and training related aspects so as to prevent recurrence of incidents."

"The analysis of all incidents is also being promulgated to the concerned training establishments and operational authorities for further dissemination of corrective measures," the Navy said.

Seeking to promote the "safety culture" further, the force said it has decided to introduce a framework comprising Safety Class Authorities (SCAs) who essentially are experts in their respective fields.

"These authorities undertake various safety related measures such as promulgation of analysis of incidents, accidents, policy guidelines on safety, safety awareness programmes," it said.

Navy said it is seized of the fact that safety of men and material is vital and is a necessary component of any armed forces organisation.

"The observance of 'safety first, safety always' is, therefore, intended to strengthen the professional approach to enhance combat capability and to facilitate conduct of naval operations with the desired elan," it added.