The vessels of the Indian Navy receive their names after several discussions and the following nomenclature. The names of the submarines and ships of the Indian Navy are decided by the Internal Nomenclature Committee (INC) at the Ministry of Defence

New Delhi: Indian Navy has embarked on a journey to add strength to the guardians of ocean. As a part of it, the navy has been tirelessly working on the development of cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, amphibious assault ships and new warships, among others. Whenever the navy develops or launches new warships, aircraft carriers, and other such vessels, it names them after prominent cities of our country, animals, geographical or historical features. So here comes the question of how vessels in the navy get their names.

Following a maritime tradition and a naval custom, some of the Indian naval ships have been named after prominent cities such as INS Imphal, INS Surat and others.

Naming of The Vessels of The Indian Navy

The vessels of the Indian Navy receive their names after several discussions and the following nomenclature. The names of the submarines and ships of the Indian Navy are decided by the Internal Nomenclature Committee (INC) at the Ministry of Defence. Headed by the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, the INC witnessed representatives from the historical section of the Defence Ministry, the Ministry of Surface Transport, and Department of Archaeology in the Ministry of Human Resource Development among others.

According to the policy guidelines, it is the Navy Chief who approved the recommendations of the committee. Moreover, the names, crests and mottos of major war vessels require the assent of the President, who is the head of all three defence wings of the Indian armed force.

Naming of A Destroyer

In a bid to maintain uniformity in the names of vessels of one type, the INC sticks to certain broad parameters, which have been listed in the policy guidelines.

It is interesting to know that a destroyer or cruiser is named after a large city, a state capital, or a great king or warrior from India’s glorious history, such as INS Kolkata, INS Delhi, INS Mumbai, INS Mysore, INS Imphal, INS Surat, INS Rana and INS Ranjit.

Naming of Frigates

In addition, the frigates are named after a mountain range, a river, or a weapon, ensuring that the names of ships of the same class have the same initial letter. For example, INS Shivalik, INS Sahaydri, INS Satpura, INS Teg, INS Talwar, INS Brahmaputra and INS Ganga, among others.

Naming of Corvettes

The corvettes, a small warship, are named after personal arms, such as the INS Khanjar, INS Khukri and INS Kirpan, among others. The multi-purpose patrol vessels are given the name of an island, such as INS Kalpani, INS Car Nicobar and INS Karuva.

Following nature of the vessel, the anti-submarine warfare vessels have been named with an offensive or destructive connotation. Thus, we have INS Kamorta and INS Kadmatt.

How Are The Submarines Named?

Following the use of the vessel and space of their functionality, the submarines are named after a predatory fish or an abstract name linking the ocean.

While the names of conventional submarines range from INS Sindhughosh, INS Sindhukirti to INS Shalki and INS Shankul, the nuclear submarines are named INS Arihant and INS Chakra. Notably, the guidelines do not differentiate between the names of the two types of submarines.