Minesweeping the Entrance to the Pussur River

The Indian Navy's minesweepers CANNANORE and BULSAR sailed from Visakhapatnam on 16 January 1972 and arrived at the entrance to the Pussur River on 18 January. Minesweeping commenced the same night and completed by the evening of 21 January. The minesweepers then sailed for Chittagong to commence minesweeping there.

Lt (later Rear Admiral) A Tewari was the Commanding Officer of BULSAR. He recalls:

"Immediately after the surrender, Indian Naval minesweepers were ordered to proceed to Bangladesh to clear mines. The ships involved in this operation were CANNANORE, a coastal minesweeper, and BULSAR, an inshore minesweeper. They were later joined by another inshore minesweeper, BHATKAL.

"We had been on our toes since August 1971 and the wear and tear was showing on men and machinery - both needed rest. But with the latest orders, that had to wait as a lot of preparations had to be done to get ready for operational minesweeping. The Navy's 18th Minesweeping Squadron comprised four coastal and four inshore minesweepers. The two best ships finally selected were BULSAR and CANNANORE. The Senior Officer of the 18th Minesweeping Squadron, M 18, was embarked in CANNANORE.

"CANNANORE and BULSAR anchored off the Pussur River entrance at 0400 on 18 January 1972.

"M 18 was of the view that it was too risky for CANNANORE to sweep and therefore BULSAR had to carry out the actual minesweeping by itself. The best M 18 was prepared to do was to standby to render assistance from his anchorage position nearly four miles away.

"So off we went with our biggest ensign and commissioning pennant to commence sweeping at 0500 hrs, just one hour after arrival at the Pussur river.

"When the ship made its first pass over the minefield, we were expecting the mines to explode at any moment - nobody really believed that the degaussing done at Cochin was effective. Either it was that or the mines were no longer active. At that moment neither mattered as we were already committed. The ship crossed the "Danger" line with our hearts beating in resonance with the propellers. We were still afloat and moving! The mine-hit wrecks were now behind us on the port quarter as a reminder of what lay below. With this baptism, the ship's company soon got down to the business of serious minesweeping. We completed seven runs that day and on completion secured alongside CANNANORE at 2200 to take water and then anchor for the night.

"Only those who have served in minesweepers can really understand the difficulties of minesweeping and how tedious, hard and demanding it can be. Handling the heavy sweep gear, cables, floats and wires requires seamanship and professional competence of the highest order. With the limited complement, all hands have to contribute their mite - there is no exception to this rule. There are no watches, no special duty men and no time for rest. An engineering mechanic comes out of the engine room, joins hands with the seamen in pulling the wires and cables as the sweeps are streamed and recovered and then goes back to the engine room freshened. There are no breaks for meals and the work goes on uninterrupted and takes priority over everything else.

"This routine was maintained continuously for four days, starting from 0400 till 2400 hours each day and ended with almost every one exhausted and dog-tired after being on deck for 20 hours at a stretch, followed by less than 4 hours of sleep.

"Carrying out magnetic sweeping involved streaming a 250 to 300 meter long and heavy cable behind the ship alongwith associated floats, kites and depressors. Normally this sweep should be streamed in waters where depths are in excess of 10 fathoms (18 meters). The mines had however been laid in about 4 to 5 fathoms (9 meters) of water. This caused considerable problems because the cable was found to be dragging on the bottom of the sea especially during turns, which resulted in it getting cut. It, therefore, had to be repaired repeatedly in order to improve its insulation.

"As compared to an inshore minesweeper, a coastal minesweeper like CANNANORE was better suited for shallow water tasks because of her higher superstructure, which enabled lessor sag when towing the cable. There were therefore, no technical limitations in the participation of CANNANORE if she had so desired.

"The minesweeping task at Pussur river was unique because no Indian Naval ship had ever done operational sweeping of influence mines in the past."

SWEEPING THE MINEFIELD AT CHITTAGONG

CANNANORE and BULSAR arrived at Chittagong on 25 January. They were joined by inshore minesweeper BHATKAL on 27 January.

Minesweeping commenced on 25 January. A number of mines were cut. Initially a shallow channel was swept to allow ships of 24 foot draft to enter Chittagong. This channel was marked with buoys. By 12 February, a deep draft channel, one mile wide and 26 miles long had been established.

DAMAGE CAUSED BY DRIFTING MINES AFTER THEY HAD BEEN SWEPT

The Hague Convention requires that on being cut or on coming adrift, mines should render themselves safe. It soon became evident that the mines laid in Chittagong did not comply with this requirement.

The drifting mines were seen to be behaving in a random and unpredictable manner:

(a) They were found to drag with the tidal stream, shifting their position while still underwater, thus requiring periodical check sweeps of the areas which had already been cleared.

(b) While some of the cut mines rose to the surface, others tended to remain below and drift underwater. As the mines were small, even on the surface, it was very difficult to see them.

In effect, once they were cut, these drifting mines became a danger to ships transiting the area.

On 5 February, the Shipping Corporation of India's ship MV VISHWA KUSUM was struck by a drifting mine. She flooded and ran aground. She was refloated and brought to off Chittagong by 12 February, where, however, she sank on 13 February.

On 11 February, the tanker ESSO ARK was struck by a drifting mine whilst alongside. She broke into two and sank.

On 13 February, inshore minesweeper BULSAR was hit by a submerged drifting mine. Both propellers were damaged. Fortunately, the mine did not explode on contact but surfaced. It was promptly sunk by gunfire. BULSAR had to be towed by DARSHAK to Calcutta on 27 February to effect repairs.

The Commanding Officer INS BULSAR, Lt (later Rear Admiral) Tewari recalls the minesweeping operation off Chittagong:

"Based on the intelligence obtained from the interrogation of the Pakistani naval officers and the masters of the Bangladeshi coastal vessels which had been employed for laying the mines, we were able to make a fairly reasonable assessment of the location of the minefields, the lines along which they were laid and the likely depth to which they were placed. Based on our assessment of the situation, the following decisions were taken:-

- An area of 25 miles by 13 miles was taken as the "Danger" area. A swept channel of 25 miles had to be established through this.

- Out of this, another area of 9 miles by 13 miles was the "hard core" area confirmed to be having mines.

- 15 danbuoys were to be laid at a distance of 1.5 miles apart.

- The danbuoys were to be laid on bearing 185 degrees - 005 degree through the deepest water to allow deep draft vessels to approach Chittagong port.

- The Bangladesh gunboat SAHAYAK was to lay danbuoys through the "hard core" area, as her draft was 4 feet.

- BULSAR was to standby to rescue the Bangladesh gunboat if struck by a mine.

- BULSAR had to lay the first six danbuoys, through the "soft core" area and the later ones beyond the "hard core" area.

"We also knew that the mines had been laid by the Pakistan Navy in a hurry just before surrender and therefore they may not have had adequate time to prepare the mines and arm them properly. The chances of encountering dud mines were therefore a possibility, but this could not be pre-judged at that juncture. Based on M 18's advice, BULSAR was once again nominated for the task. Once again, M-18 kept CANNANORE well clear of any involvement, except for behind the scene activities.

"The laying of danbuoys for a minesweeping operation is a very precise evolution and a number of factors have to be kept in mind. Foremost amongst them is that each danbuoy should be anchored firmly at the bottom, to prevent it from drifting, especially off Chittagong where the currents were known to be up to 5 knots. The next important factor was that they should be laid in the exact positions given in the chart, because they were to be the datum for all further minesweeping tasks.

"On the first day, the danbuoy laying task went as per plan. The first five danbuoys were laid by BULSAR in the "soft core" area, with the Bangladesh gun boat SAHAYAK following behind. When SAHAYAK's turn came to lay the danbuoys through the "hard core" area, she turned around and headed back to Chittagong as fast as her engines could take her! In the process of doing this and probably by design, her Captain decided that it was safer to be a derelict than an underwater wreck. She ran aground at the entrance of the Karnaphuli River. That ended the first and the only contribution of the emerging Bangladesh Navy.

"As a consequence to this unexpected turn of events, I realised that there was no alternative but for BULSAR to complete the job, as CANNANORE was unlikely to do so under any circumstances. Intuitively, she had also developed a defect in her diesel generators. Realising the gravity of the situation and the fact that the work had to go on, I volunteered even before being asked, to continue laying the remaining danbuoys through the "hard core" area and beyond.

"Since it was unlikely that a ship of BULSAR's size could have survived a mine explosion, the ship's company was briefed in detail about the risks and the safety precautions required. To minimise injury, all personnel were told to remain on the upper deck.

"By now, BHATKAL had joined CANNANORE and BULSAR at Chittagong and was deputed to keep an eye on BULSAR. This she did very faithfully even through the "hard core" area, although her orders were to wait outside the area and remain in communication. The Commanding Officer BHATKAL's reason for doing so was simple - "We are sister ships, wherever BULSAR goes, I too will go.

"Till now, the laying of danbuoys had progressed smoothly and as per schedule. The last group of danbuoys was finally laid on the third day but on this occasion, BHATKAL had not sailed out with BULSAR. This was the first time that I had a major emergency. While entering harbour on completion of the task, in the Karnaphuli river, my port diesel generator (DG) exhaust caught fire due to under loading and the smoke spread quickly in the entire Engine Room. There was a danger that the reserve fuel tank, located just below the DG, might catch fire. The engines had to be stopped and fuel shut off to fight the fire. As the ship had by now lost way, the only anchor available in the ship was let go to hold the ship in the channel.

"The Karnaphuli river is well known for its very strong ebb tide which sometimes reaches speeds of 10 to 12 knots. On that particular day, it must have been around 5 to 6 knots, which was too strong for BULSAR's weak, non-ferrous chain cable to hold. As the ship had also gained a certain amount of stern way before the decision to let go the anchor was taken, the chain cable had even lesser chance of holding the ship. Thus, on letting go, it ran out and snapped. I helplessly watched the ship being carried down rapidly. By some stroke of luck, the ship remained in the centre of the channel and did not drift towards the shore. In the meantime, the Chief ERA, appreciating the danger, entered the smoke filled engine room, stopped the DG and shut its fuel supply. Soon the fire was also extinguished. In the process of carrying out all this, the Chief ETA collapsed due to smoke. This act of the Chief ERA allowed us to start one engine and get underway again. For this act of bravery and presence of mind, the Chief ERA was later decorated with a Nao Sena Medal.

"On arrival at the naval jetty we had something to cheer about. Captain Bawa was fully aware of the importance of the task carried out by BULSAR. He paid his compliment with this signal.

FROM : NAG CHITTAGONG

TO : BULSAR

NOT ONLY HAVE YOU THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE FIRST WARSHIP TO SAIL THROUGH THE MINEFIELD BUT YOU HAVE ALSO LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR SUBSEQUENT MINE SWEEPING. WELL DONE.

"It took only one day to repair BULSAR's port DG as neither water nor foam had been used indiscriminately to put out the fire. The lost anchor was replaced with an old metallic anchor and chain found in the former Pakistan naval stores. With no threat from influence mines, we could safely disregard magnetic discipline. The ship was made ready for sea again, as we did not want to miss out from the inaugural minesweeping run.

"BULSAR sailed out of CHittagong on 1 February 1972 to join CANNANORE and BHATKAL who were waiting for her to commence the first-ever operational sweeping of contact mines in the history of the Indian Navy. The inshore minesweepers were positioned on either side of the danbuoy line. BHATKAL on the west and BULSAR on the east of the line. Two runs were made on the first day, which passed off without any incident.

"Unknown and unnoticed by us was the fact that this time we were right on target and mines had already been cut. One such mine got caught in a fishing net. This was taken ashore by an unsuspecting fisherman, who probably thought it contained some treasure and tried tinkering with its horns. The mine soon exploded killing 15 persons and burning down 10 huts of that village. This incident was the last straw that broke M 18's nerves which were already on edge - he suffered a heart attack. He had to be evacuated back to Calcutta by Red Cross aircraft. He was brave enough to walk out of his ship on his own two legs.

"To us now it was amply clear that:

- Mines were definitely there - live and properly laid.

- They did not have much positive buoyancy and therefore, unlike other buoyant mines, they did not rise to the surface immediately on being cut. This made them more dangerous, as they were inconspicuous.

- They were live even after being cut.

"Undaunted by the tragedy, we were on task the next day, this time with more watchful lookouts and sharpshooters. During our second run CANNANORE, which was stationed behind BULSAR's swept path, was the first to sight a mine ahead of us. This was probably cut by us during the run earlier in the day. It was ahead of my ship and was fired at by the 20mm Hispano gun and hit after a few attempts. It slowly sank but did not explode.

FROM : CANNANORE

TO : NAG CHITTAGONG

HAVE CUT ONE MINE MRN I IN POSITION 21 51.4' N, 91 41.5'E.

ALL SHIPS OPENED FIRE. MINE SUNK BY BULSARs 20MM.

"Two days later, 3 more mines were sighted in the same area and destroyed, two by BHATKAL and one by BULSAR. By now every one knew his duty, no one had to be told what to do. By 12 February, we had succeeded in establishing a swept channel 25 miles long and one mile wide. Our first mission of minesweeping having been completed, the next mission was to maintain the swept channel free of mines.

"By this time, we had been operational and away from home port continuously for about two months. By itself, this was no mean achievement for a small ship like an inshore minesweeper with little shore support. But this was not the end of our problems.

"The minesweepers had probably cut many more mines than were accounted for, some of which were adrift. These mines were small and had low buoyancy, which made them difficult to locate and distinguish. NAG Chittagong's problem was that if he promulgated this fact then it could have led to the stoppage of all shipping, which we were trying to revive. Before we could make up our minds, the mine struck its next victim. This was the SCI ship VISHWA KUSUM which was leaving harbour, when it was not in the channel swept by the minesweepers.

"CANNANORE, which was at anchorage and 2 to 3 miles away rushed to the site to help the stricken ship. BULSAR, which was inside the harbour repairing the main engine megator pump, was ordered to sail out at night to R/V CANNANORE to bring the survivors back to Chittagong. BULSAR reached the area at about 0001 hrs and brought the survivors back to the harbour the same night, as there was no place for them on board either CANNANORE or BULSAR.

"On interrogation of VISHWA KUSUM's crew, it came to light that they had indeed seen the mine floating towards them but they had mistaken it to be a submarine. When the mine exploded, they thought that they had been attacked by a submarine and abandoned the ship in a state of panic without attempting any damage control action, as they anticipated another attack from the same submarine. Finally, VISHWA KUSUM sank on 13 February despite all the efforts of the Navy and the SCI to save her.

"On the same day that VISHWA KUSUM sank off Chittagong harbour, a merchant ship COSMOS PIONEER, reported sighting a mine while leaving harbour at 3.15 p.m.. I was ordered to sail with dispatch and destroy the errant mine.

"On plotting the position and the likely drift due to current, I appreciated that we would be able to reach mine only by sunset and thus may not be in a position to see a drifting mine. Prudence dictated that I should sail the next morning since COSMOS PIONEER had safely sailed out and no other sailing was scheduled until the next day. Despite this, NAG Chittagong wanted me to search for the mine and anchor for the night if necessary. We sailed out and by dusk, the ship was slightly short of the estimated position of the mine.

"The entire ship's company was on the upper deck keeping a sharp look out. All pairs of eyes were needed to see a single drifting mine. Suddenly, when the ship was in the process of turning and under helm, there was a loud `thud' and a strong jerk as if something was pulling the ship back. Due to the list caused by the turn, it appeared as if the ship was taking in water. The initial panic disappeared when the ship was found to be on even keel, with a mine rolling behind the wake. We had struck a moored mine and cut it with our propellers. It was our good fortune that for some reason this mine had not exploded. Finding ourselves safe, we wasted no time in sinking this mine. That ended our minesweeping deployment.

FROM : NAG CHITTAGONG

TO : NHQ

BULSAR HIT A SUBMERGED DRIFTING MINE AT 131740F IN POSITION 22 07.8 N, 91 40.6 E. MINE DID NOT REPEAT DID NOT EXPLODE ON CONTACT BUT SURFACED AND SUNK BY GUNFIRE.

SUSPECT DAMAGE TO PROPELLERS OR SHAFTS AS CONSIDERABLE VIBRATION EXPERIENCED ON RETURN PASSAGE TO HARBOUR. FURTHER ASSESSMENT AFTER DIVER INSPECTIONS.

HAVE POSTPONED DEPARTURE OF MV HOOGHLY WITH CAPTURED AMMUNITION SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW MONDAY.

INTEND ADVISING PORT TO SUSPEND TRAFFIC THROUGH PRESENT CHANNEL AFTER CONSULTATION WITH COMNAG."

"The damage to BULSAR's propellers ended her participation in minesweeping operations. Soon thereafter, BULSAR was towed by DARSHAK to Calcutta for repairs in Garden Reach Workshops".

CHECK SWEEPING OF THE SWEPT CHANNEL

The danger posed by drifting mines made it clear that continuous check sweeps would be necessary to keep the swept channel clear of mines. Meanwhile, to avoid any Bangladesh suspicions that the Indian Armed Forces were an "occupying force", the Government of India had directed that all Indian Armed Forces were to be withdrawn by 25 March 1972.

The Navy had informed the Government that it did not have the capability either to clear wrecks or to clear the entire minefield at Chittagong. The Bangladesh Government then requested that Indian minesweepers continue check sweeps. Concurrently, it sought the Russian Navy's assistance to clear the wrecks in the rivers of Bangladesh and the minefield at Chittagong.

Coastal minesweepers KAKINADA and KARWAR arrived at Chittagong on 17 March and started carrying out regular check sweeps of the swept channel.

Starting early April 1972, a flotilla of Russian ships (naval minesweepers, salvage ships and their supporting vessels) arrived in Chittagong. By end May, they had widened the swept channel to 2 miles.

Meanwhile the Indian naval minesweepers who had been carrying out check sweeps from mid March onwards without a break began to report major defects. This led to their withdrawal to Calcutta and Visakhapatnam to effect repairs. M 18 therefore recommended that the responsibility for carrying out check sweeps be formally taken over by the Russian minesweeping force.

In May 1972, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Sarma flew to Chittagong to discuss the coordination of the Indian and Russian naval minesweeping effort. It was agreed that in view of the need for Indian minesweepers to undertake long overdue maintenance and repairs, only one Indian minesweeper was likely to be available in the foreseeable future. It was agreed that the responsibility for check minesweeping would be taken over by Russian minesweepers.

Minesweeping operations at Chittagong were suspended in July 72 with the advent of the monsoons. By then, the swept channel had been widened to 3 miles and a total of 24 mines had been swept.

In July 1972, Russia and Bangladesh signed a bilateral protocol for salvage and minesweeping, which envisaged the complete clearance of all mines off Chittagong by end 1972 and check sweeping till the end of 1973.

When minesweeping operations were resumed in October, Indian minesweepers had not yet completed maintenance and repair. Moreover minesweeping operations with the Russian minesweepers had revealed that it was not possible to marry British origin minesweeping equipment with the Russian minesweeping equipment. Naval Headquarters therefore withdrew the remaining minesweeper in November 1972. This brought to a close the Indian Navy's minesweeping assistance to Bangladesh. The Russian Navy also withdrew most of its vessels, leaving only two minesweepers to carry out check sweeping till December 1973.

RETROSPECT

The minesweeping operation off Chittagong was the Indian Navy's first real encounter with live mines. For nearly twelve months, these small, over-aged minesweepers operated 2500 miles from their home base in Bombay and 600 miles from the nearest naval base in Visakhapatnam, without proper logistic support, in extremely hazardous conditions, in a port ravaged by war. Both officers and men came through the arduous experience well and with confidence. The minesweepers however needed extensive repairs for several months before their operational capability could be restored.

Of the 94 mines believed to have been laid off Chittagong, 18 mines were cut by Indian minesweepers and 2 by Russian minesweepers. 6 mines were washed ashore and destroyed.

DIVING OPERATIONS IN CHITTAGONG

A few hours before the surrender, the Pakistan Navy had reportedly dumped into the river, Rupees 22 lakhs of coins, a large quantity of looted gold and silver ornaments and six large trunks of gold taken from the National Bank. Diving operations at Chittagong were undertaken at the request of the Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Bank.

Diving operations commenced on 3 July 72 and completed on 24 October 72. To avoid any suspicion of misappropriation, the procedure followed was:

(a) Diving operations were conducted in the presence of two officers of the Bangladesh Bank and one officer of the Bangladesh Navy.

(b) The items recovered were handed over to the Bangladesh Bank representatives in the presence of Bangladesh naval officer after the necessary supply and receipt vouchers had been signed by the Bangladesh officials and the Officer in-Charge of the Diving team/Commanding Officer of the Indian naval ship supporting the diving operation.

The total recovery was 52.75 tolas of gold, 70.05 kgs of silver and large quantities of coins.

TRANSFER OF SEAWARD DEFENCE BOATS

At the request of the Bangladesh Navy, Seaward Defence Boats AKSHAY and AJAY were transferred in April 73 and July 74 and recommissioned as BNS PADMA and SURMA respectively. Concurrently, Bangladesh naval personnel started undergoing training in India.

TRANSFER OF CAPTURED PAKISTANI MERCHANT SHIPS TO BANGLADESH

Of the four Pakistani merchant ships seized in the 1971 war:

(a) On 17 Apr 72, BAQIR was renamed MV HOOGHLY and manned by the Shipping Corporation of India for transporting troops and stores from Bangladesh to India. Thereafter, she transported the Army Garrison to Port Blair. Later in 1972, she was commissioned as INS ADHAR and used for the transportation of stores and material between the mainland and the A&N Islands and between the naval ports. In January 1974, ADHAR was chartered to the Mogul Line for four years at Rs 75,000 per month and renamed as LOK ADHAR. She was used for coastal service. On completion of the charter, LOK ADHAR was disposed of by the Navy.

(b) In June 72, the Government of India decided that ANWAR BAKSH, MADHUMATI and PASNI would be handed over to the SCI who would run these ships and pay the Navy an agreed amount. Later, as a gesture of goodwill, these ships were handed over to Bangladesh, MADHUMATI and PASNI in April 73 and ANWAR BAKSH in November 74.