INS Dwarka

INS Dwarka is a forward operating base of the Indian Navy at Okha, Gujarat, on the Saurashtra coast of the north Arabian Sea. It falls under the Western Naval Command and is under the operational and administrative command of the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Gujarat), with a commanding officer of Commander rank.

The base is responsible for the defence of Port Okha and for surveillance of the north Arabian Sea and the deep-water channels approaching it. It provides infrastructure, operational logistics and diving support to naval ships operating in the area. Griffon-GRSE 8000 TD-class hovercraft are based at the station. INS Dwarka also furnishes administrative and logistic support to Indian Coast Guard units at the co-located Okha Coast Guard Station, and coordinates patrolling by the Sagar Prahari Bal as well as training for the Gujarat Marine Police.

A forward outpost was raised at Port Okha in February 1966 under the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Kathiawar), following the recognised need for a naval presence closer to the Pakistani coast. The outpost, then four officers and 59 sailors, was commissioned as INS Dwarka at its present location on 26 November 1972. NOIC (Kathiawar) was redesignated NOIC (Saurashtra) on 7 July 1983, and in March 1985 that office was bifurcated, with a Commander appointed as Commanding Officer, INS Dwarka.