Article Posted on : - Mar 16, 2015

NEW DELHI (PTI): Vice Admiral S Lanba, in line to be the next Navy chief in 2016, was on Sunday appointed as the chief of the Southern Naval Command (SNC).

The present SNC flag officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral S P S Cheema, will take over the Western Naval Command (WNC) from Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, who retires on March 31.

Vice-Admiral P Murugesan, the chief of personnel at the naval headquarters in New Delhi will be the next vice-chief of the force, Navy sources said.

All officers senior to Lanba, including Vice-Admirals Cheema, Soni and P K Chatterjee (Andaman and Nicobar command chief), will retire before Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan hangs his boots in May 2016.