INS Amba (A54)

INS "Amba" (A54) was the only submarine tender ship in service with the Indian Navy. It was decommissioned from service in July 2006. 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" submarines that since have entered service.

On May 26, 2001 a fire broke out in the laundry section of the "Amba" during a routine refit at the Cochin Shipyard, suffocating two washermen.

= External links =
* [http://indiannavy.nic.in/fleet_depot.htm Official Indian Navy website]
* [http://www.indiansubmariner.com/history/history21.htm IndianSubmariner article]
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Ugra.html Information at Bharat Rakshak]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/05/27/stories/0127000d.htm 2 die in ship fire] - The Hindu article