INS Jalashwa: Navy starts training to handle gas leak

Taking a lesson from the gas leak on board INS Jalashwa that claimed six lives, the Indian Navy has started a special training capsule...

Taking a lesson from the gas leak on board INS Jalashwa that claimed six lives, the Indian Navy has started a special training capsule for all officers and sailors posted on warships to handle hydrogen sulphide leaks.

The special training, introduced a month after the Jalashwa disaster brought out that sailors were unfamiliar with the poisonous gas and did not have adequate standing instructions to deal with the leak, has been included in the Nuclear Biological and

Chemical Disaster NBCD course for all personnel.

Besides the training capsule, the Navy is shopping around for specialised equipment and protective gear to deal with Hydrogen Sulphide leaks and has already asked vendors to demonstrate their systems on board warships.

While the training capsule will be made part of the standard curriculum in naval training academies, officers serving on board all warships fitted with Sewage Treatment Plants STP are also going through the training.

The initial inquiry into the accident revealed that the Navy, which has been operating Russian origin warships, is not familiar with STP-related disasters and specialised training is required for all personnel, especially officers from the engineering branch.

The accident would have resulted in lesser casualties if sailors reacting to the gas leak had followed precautions and worn protective gear, sources say. Reconstructing the accident, they say that while sailors who had gone into a compartment to investigate a malfunction collapsed due to the poisonous gas, the initial rescue team rushed in to help their crewmates without realising the danger and also succumbed to the gas.

The root of the problem seems to be a lack of expertise in handling sewage treatment plants that have been made mandatory for all ships due to international Maritime Pollution MARPOL regulations.