A naval base , navy base , or military port is a military base , where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on ships but are undergoing maintenance while the ship is in port.
6-848: INS Dweeprakshak is a naval base of the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy located on Kavaratti island in the Lakshadweep archipelago. It was commissioned on 30 April 2012. The Indian Navy has deployed detachments to the Lakshadweep Islands since independence . The Lakshadweep islands were a part of the Madras Presidency under the British Raj and in accordance with the Indian Independence Act 1947 , enacted by
12-508: The British parliament , the islands were transferred to the new Union of India . Though the Madras Presidency had an overwhelming Hindu majority, the islands had a Muslim majority. Hence, it seemed possible that the new dominion of Pakistan might seek to lay claim to the islands. On the orders of Vallabhbhai Patel , the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India , a ship of
18-676: The Royal Indian Navy was sent to the islands to hoist the Indian national flag and ensure the islands' integration into the Union of India. Hours after the arrival of the Indian ship, vessels of the Royal Pakistan Navy were seen near the islands, but after observing Indian naval presence they returned to Karachi . The navy has maintained permanent facilities on Kavaratti island since the 1980s. The islands are en route on vital shipping lanes from
24-558: The Indian mainland to the Persian Gulf . With increasing threats, such as attacks by Somali pirates , the island territory has grown in relevance to Indian security considerations. INS Dweeprakshak was hence commissioned to provide support facilities for naval vessels based on the islands, as well as to enhance surveillance capabilities over shipping lanes. INS Dweeprakshak was commissioned on 30 April 2012 by Vice Admiral Krishnan Nair Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of
30-711: The Southern Naval Command. Captain S. M. Hanchinal was the first Commanding Officer of the base. Naval base In the United States , the United States Department of the Navy 's General Order No. 135 issued in 1911 as a formal guide to naval terminology described a naval station as "any establishment for building, manufacturing, docking, repair, supply, or training under control of the Navy. It may also include several establishments". A naval base, by contrast,
36-560: Was "a point from which naval operations may be conducted". In most countries, naval bases are expressly named and identified as such. One peculiarity of the Royal Navy and certain other navies which closely follow British naval traditions is the concept of the stone frigate : a naval base on land that is named like a ship. Certain facilities were often initially housed on hulks as a cost-saving measure and were later moved to land but kept their traditional names. This naval article
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