COMMANDS AND ORGANISTATION
The Indian Navy operates three Commands.[74] Each Command is headed by a Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the rank of Vice Admiral. The Eastern and Western Commands each have a Fleet commanded by a rear admiral, and each also have a Commodore commanding submarines. The Southern Naval Command is home to the Flag Officer Sea Training.
Additionally, the Andaman and Nicobar Command headquartered at Port Blair is a unified tri-services command under the Commander in Chief Andaman and Nicobar (CINCAN) who reports to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) who is provided staff support by the Chief of Integrated Staff to the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) in New Delhi. The Andaman and Nicobar Command, a unified Indian Navy, Indian Army Indian Air Force and Coast Guard Command was set up in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2001.[75]
| Commands | HQ Location | Current FOC-in-C |
|---|---|---|
| Western Naval Command | Mumbai | Vice Admiral Surinder Pal Singh Cheema[76] |
| Eastern Naval Command | Visakhapatnam | Vice Admiral Satish Soni[77] |
| Southern Naval Command | Kochi | Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba[78] |
In 2005, the Indian Navy commissioned the base, INS Kadamba at Karwar, 100 km from Goa. This is the third operational naval base after Mumbai and Visakhapatnam and the first to be controlled exclusively by the Navy without sharing port facilities with commercial shipping. Built under phase I of the Project Seabird, it is the largest naval base in the region.[79] The largest naval academy in Asia, INS Zamorin at Ezhimala, is operated by Indian Navy. The Indian Navy also has berthing rights in Oman and Vietnam.[80]
The Navy operates a monitoring station, fitted with radars and surveillance gear to intercept maritime communication, in Madagascar. It also plans to build a further 32 radar stations in Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka.[81] According to Intelligence Online in January 2013, published by France-based global intelligence gathering organisation, Indigo Publications, the Navy is believed to be operating a listening post in Ras al-Hadd, Oman. The post is located directly across from Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan, separated by approximately 400 km of the Arabian Sea.[82]