A newly acquired Indian Navy deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) has recently located the wreckage of PNS Ghazi, the Pakistani submarine that sank on December 4, 1971, during the India-Pakistan war.

The Tench-class submarine, which served earlier in the US Navy as USS Diablo, was found at a depth of around 100 meters about 2 to 2.5 kilometers off the coast.

The sinking of PNS Ghazi with 93 men (11 officers and 82 sailors) on board off the coast of Visakhapatnam was considered a high point in the war,

which ended with the creation of Bangladesh in 1972. Pakistan had dispatched the US-made PNS Ghazi to mine India's eastern seaboard and to locate, shadow, and sink INS Vikrant, India's British-built Majestic-class aircraft carrier.

India dispatched its destroyer, INS Rajput, which tracked the Ghazi and dropped depth charges, leading to its sinking. The Pakistani military has a different view, attributing its sinking to accidental explosions.

PNS Ghazi is not the only submarine lying on the floor of the Bay of Bengal near Vizag. A Japanese submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy (RO-110) was sunk off the coast of the Rambilli locality, in undivided Vizag district, during World War II (February 12, 1944).

The submarine was sunk by HMAS Launceston and HMIS Jumna using depth charges.

Veteran naval personnel said two submarines were lying at the bottom of the sea close to the Vizag coast. "However, the Navy has not touched the Japanese submarine as naval personnel strongly believe that it is the final resting place of the brave souls, and we let them rest in peace," they said.

Vizag is one of the few coastal cities with deep inlets offering anchorage for sea-faring ships thanks to an average depth of about 16 meters. While more than 40 countries operate submarines, very few nations have developed the capability to deploy a DSRV.

These vehicles can conduct submarine rescue operations at depths of up to 1,000 meters. India has now operated two DSRVs that can be either ship-mounted or transportable.

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