New Delhi: The latest of Project 75’s six Scorpene-class submarines, INS Vagsheer, was launched today in Mumbai by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders. Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar inaugurated the submarine. The submarine will be put through a series of tests and trials for more than a year after launch to guarantee that it is fully combat-ready. The first submarine, the ‘Vagsheer,’ was commissioned in December 1974 and called after the sandfish, a dangerous deep-water sea predator of the Indian Ocean. In April 1997, it was deactivated. The current submarine is the most recent incarnation of its predecessor, as a ship never ceases to exist in nautical jargon. Even when a ship or submarine is retired, a new ship or submarine with the same name replaces it.
