Indian Navy decommissioned INS Magar on May 06, the oldest Landing Ship Tank (Large) after 36 years of service at the Naval base in Kochi.
The name ‘Magar’ is named after a species of crocodile. The crest design depicts a brown crocodile swimming with its mouth open on the waves of the white and blue sea.
The ship commanded by CDR Hemant Salunkhe was decommissioned in the presence of Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi, Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command.
Over the past 36 years, the ship, which was commissioned on July 18, 1987, has proved to be a doughty workhorse of the Navy.
The ship was built indigenously by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata.
It was launched on 16 November 1984 and commissioned into the Indian Navy on 18 July 1987 by Admiral RH Tahiliani, the then Chief of the Naval Staff.
It has participated in numerous operations, including Operation Pawan to support Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and the Operation Samudra Setu, wherein more than 4,000 Indians were repatriated from various corners of the world, during the pandemic.
The ship was also instrumental in evacuation of over 1,300 survivors post Tsunami in 2004 and was part of several joint military exercises with the Army.
In 2018, the ship was converted into a training ship and joined the first training squadron at Kochi under the Southern Naval Command.
