INS Amba (A54)
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | INS Amba |
| Builder | Nikolayev, USSR |
| Acquired | by purchase, 1968 |
| Commissioned | 28 December 1968 |
| Decommissioned | July 2006 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine tender |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 6,750 t (6,643 long tons) standard 9,650 t (9,498 long tons) full load |
| Length | 141 m (462 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 17.6 m (57 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 7 m (23 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion | Diesel-electric, 2 shafts, 8,000 shp (5,966 kW) |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Range | 21,000 mi (34,000 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 400 |
| Armament | 4 × 76 mm guns |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter landing pad |
INS Amba (A54) was the only submarine tender ship in service with the Indian Navy. It is a modified Soviet Ugra-class design built to Indian specifications in Nikolayev (the present-day Mykolaiv in Ukraine) in 1968. Deviations from the standard Ugra design include four 76 mm guns instead of the 57 mm ones mounted on Soviet units.
The Amba was acquired in order to support the Indian Navy's then growing fleet of Foxtrot-class submarines. Of the eight submarines of that type commissioned during the late 1960s and early 1970s, only two (the Vela and Vagli) remain in service today. It is unclear if the Amba is used with the newer Shishumar and Sindhughosh-class submarines that have since entered service.
On 26 May 2001 a fire broke out in the laundry section of the Amba during a routine refit at the Cochin Shipyard, suffocating two washermen.
Amba was decommissioned from service in July 2006.