Navy Captain sacked for error

Indian Navy has sacked the captain of the warship INS Prahar for "navigational error" after it sank following a collision with a ship off the Goa coast five months ago, according to Ministry of Defence sources.

The navy conducted a court martial of captain Commander Yogesh Tripathi and found him guilty of "navigational error", a Ministry of Defence spokesman said in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Tripathi was tried by court martial and dismissed from service. The verdict was given two weeks back and is subject to judicial review by the Chief of Naval staff at headquarters, the spokesperson said. Tripathy has been with the Navy for the past 13 years and was removed from command soon after the accident, he said, adding that Tripathy had "confessed" his mistake during the court martial.

"The 56-metre Veer class missile corvette, which was commissioned in the navy almost a decade back, had no mechanical defect and was perfectly operational and investigations had fixed the responsiblity of the incident on the captain," he added.

The collision took place on April 21, about 10 nautical miles off Mormugao port when INS Prahar was returning to Mumbai after a routine exercise. The other vessel, a Shipping Corporation of India ship, was on her way from Jawaharlal Nehru Port here to Colombo, he said.