From the archive record
The Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy is one of its three major formations. It utilizes Visakhapatnam as its headquarters, and has bases there and at Kolkata. It is the first and the largest naval command in India. The headquarters at Visakhapatnam is also a strategically important dockyard for two nuclear-powered submarines. Due to congestion and heavy shipping traffic, a new 20 square km base INS Varsha is being developed for exclusive naval use about 50 km south of Visakhapatnam. The Eastern Navy fleet is distributed among its bases at Kolkata, Paradip, Tuticorin, Kakinada and Chennai on the east coast, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Navy has opened its latest naval air base, INS Baaz, at the southernmost tip of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to secure the strategic