INS Kadamba

INS Kadamba or Naval Base Karwar or Project Seabird is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The first phase of construction of the base, code-named Project Seabird, was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 31 May 2005. Development of Phase II commenced in 2011. INS Kadamba is currently the third largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase IIB. The construction of Naval Base covers an area of 11,169 acres in Phase I.

The Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is based at Karwar. The base also has the country's first sealift facility, a unique “shiplift” and transfer system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.

History
During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists. At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns. Alternative locations for a base on the west coast were evaluated, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Thoothukudi.

In the early 1980s, then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson conceived of a dedicated naval base sandwiched between the craggy hills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea near Karwar in Karnataka state. Located south of the naval bases in Mumbai and Goa and north of Kochi, the location had significant advantages as being very close to the world's busiest shipping route between the Persian Gulf and east Asia and out of range of most strike aircraft from neighboring countries. It also offered a natural deep-water harbour and significant land area for expansion, allowing larger aircraft carriers to berth. However, due to a variety of reasons, including the 1991 economic crisis, development was delayed.

Project Seabird
In 1999, following Pokhran-II, then Defence Minister George Fernandes approved Project Seabird to pursue the construction of the new naval base at Karwar. Larsen & Toubro was the lead contractor for the marine works on the harbour, in partnership with Hochtief, Ballast Nadem Dredging of the Netherlands, Radisson of Australia and Nedeco of The Netherland. Over 5 km of breakwater were constructed using over 4.4 million cubic metres of rock to protect the harbour. The Binaga Bay was dredged and its rock outcrops blasted to allow even large aircraft carriers to turn inside the bay. Anjadip Island is one of the two islands to which the breakwaters are linked for reinforcement. A second channel will be added to the base to allow warships to enter and exit the port simultaneously.

Phase I expansion
Spread over an area of 45 km2 and 23 km of coastline on the Arabian Sea, Phase I of INS Kadamba was commissioned on 31 May 2005. The expanded base opened in 2007, with space for up to 11 front-line warships and 10 smaller FIC-type boats. Key facilities include the 10,000 tonne, 175 x ship lift, a ship transfer system for dry docking at the Naval Ship Repair Yard, and a 141-bed naval hospital INHS Patanjali. Naval Ship Repair Yard commenced functioning in July 2006 and the ship-lift was commissioned on 8 November 2006. Commodore K P Ramachandran was the first Commanding Officer of INS Kadamba.

Phase-I was completed at a total cost of inr 26290000000.

Phase II expansion
Development of Phase II of INS Kadamba was supposed to commence in 2011 but got delayed due to lack of environmental clearance. The Phase-IIA expansion approval was obtained from the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2012, after getting approval from then Defence Minister, and inr 135000000000 were granted. The environment clearance for Phase II was granted in June 2014 on a priority basis for strategic reasons by the environment minister. The work will commence in 2016 and is expected to be completed by 2022.

Phase II-A
Phase II-A is expected to commence in 2017 and end in 2021–2022 with an expected cost of ₹19,600 crore. The project is expected to generate large scale employment and infuse money into the local economy. In this phase, the base will undergo the following upgrades: After completion of this phase, the base will have over one lakh personnel working there, apart from their families living in an upcoming residential township. Apart from berthing INS Vikramaditya, two more aircraft carriers will be homeported here. For this, two more jetties will be used. A few of the Kalvari-class submarine submarines will also be based here.
 * The base will be able to host 32 ships and submarines along with 23 yardcraft. The upgrade will provide berthing space of over 6 km.
 * There will be a covered dry berth of 75 m height and an area of 33,000 m2 with capability of simultaneously docking of upto four capital ships.
 * Eight operational jetties, two refit jetties, four cover drivers and full-pledged dockyards to handle additional ships
 * Residential townships to accommodate 10,000 officers, sailors and defence civilian staff.
 * Naval air station for helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and medium transport aircraft with a civil terminal
 * INHS Patanjali will be upgraded from 141-bed to 400-bed hospital
 * Second Kendriya Vidyalaya

Under the proposed expansion plans, a 3,000 feet long runway will be built as Karwar Airport. If the Centre and the State request the Indian Navy seeking to utilise the runway for civil aviation aircraft, the runway length will be increased to 6,000 feet. Post completion as many as 30 warships can be anchored at the base and it would have a hangar to hold as many military aircraft. The Indian Navy, through the State government, has acquired 11,334 acres of land which includes 8,661 acres of forest land.

Inauguration
On 5 March 2024, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated new facilities and infrastructure at the base. These consist of "two major piers and seven residential towers comprising 320 houses for officers and civilian defence personnel as well as 149 single officers’ accommodation."

On 9 April 2024, the Chief of the Naval Staff R. Hari Kumar inaugurated a pier and a residential complex. Pier 3 or Offshore Patrol Vessels Pier is a 350 m long pier capable of berthing Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), large survey vessels and mine countermeasure vessels. The pier would supply the ships with a variety of shore-based facilities, which includes power, potable water, chilled water for air conditioning, a 30-ton mobile crane, and other domestic services. A residential housing consisting of two towers with 80 apartments each for married officers and 149 apartments for single officers, as well as associated facilities and outside services were inaugurated as well. The facility also included six towers housing 360 apartments of Type-II for civilian employees of the Defence Department were opened.

Phase II-B
After the completion of this phase of the project, INS Kadamba will be able to base 50 front-line warships, and will be the biggest naval base east of the Suez Canal.

Important milestones

 * Initial Sanction - 1985
 * Foundation Stone laid - 24 October 1986
 * Acquisition of land - 1985–1988
 * Master Plan & DPR - 1990
 * Truncated Phase 1 sanctioned - Oct 1995
 * Execution of project - 1995–2005
 * Rehabilitation Phase 1 - 1995–1999
 * Construction commenced - 2000
 * Priority Housing - February 2003
 * Breakwater completed - February 2004
 * Sailors Residential Colony - July 2004
 * Anchorage completed - November 2004
 * Pier completed - February 2005
 * Officers Colony at Kamath Bay - February 2004
 * Docking of the first navy ship INS Shardul
 * Karwar Naval Hospital - Feb 2005 (Temporary location)
 * Ship Lift installed - Apr 2005
 * Phase 2 sanctioned- 2012
 * Arrival of Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya - January 2014
 * Phase 2 construction commenced - 2016
 * Berthing of Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant - May 2023
 * Phase 2A Pier 1 and 2 completed - March 2024
 * Phase 2A Pier 3 (OPV) completed - April 2024