Indian Navy takes charge of US ship Trenton, now INS Jalashva

Within hours of the monstrous tsunami that struck the subcontinent’s eastern flank in December 2004, the Indian Navy commandeered and dispatched nearly a fourth of its fleet for relief and rescue. Thirty-eight ships, big and small, raced to help the tens of thousands in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka whose lives were devastated by the calamity.

But when the ships reached the tsunami-hit areas, they found piers and jetties wrecked. Although the Indian Navy overcame myriad obstacles to bring off a stupendous relief act, one which was universally hailed, ''it was also a moment when we felt an acute need for an amphibious landing ship,'' according to a commander who was involved in the operation.

That gaping hole in the Indian armada was filled to a large extent on Wednesday when the Indian Navy took charge of USS Trenton, a massive amphibious loading dock, in an elegant handing over ceremony at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia. The 17,000 ton vessel will be the second largest ship in the Indian Navy after the aircraft carrier Viraat , and the first American ship to join the Indian fleet.

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