Indian, Pakistani naval ships collide in North Arabian Sea
Pakistan Navy vessel PNS Hunain collided with Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata in the North Arabian Sea on September 15, with India saying the Pakistani ship made a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre at high speed. India summoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires and cited Article 10 of the 1991 bilateral agreement, which requires naval vessels to stay three nautical miles apart. Pakistan rejected the allegations. INS Kolkata suffered no major damage; Hunain was damaged and returned to harbour.
Source
The Hindu — National · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- PNS Hunain collided with INS Kolkata in the North Arabian Sea on September 15. — Stated in source; India's version attributes cause to a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre, Pakistan rejects it — account remains disputed.
- India cited violations of Article 10 of the 1991 India-Pakistan agreement requiring three nautical miles separation. — Attributed to India's protest; text of Article 10 and the April 6, 1991 signing date appear in source.
- INS Kolkata suffered no major damage and remains at sea; PNS Hunain was damaged and returned to harbour. — Attributed to India's Ministry of External Affairs in source.
- A similar incident occurred in June 2011 involving PNS Babur and INS Godavari in the Gulf of Aden. — Figure and description appear in source; no independent verification possible.
- Vessel specifications: INS Kolkata 164 m/7,400 tonnes/30 knots; PNS Hunain 98 m/2,600 tonnes/24 knots. — Technical details given in source, partly sourced to builder Damen and Pakistani descriptions.
Analysts’ view opinion
This is not merely a collision at sea — it is a contest over who establishes the narrative of rule-breaking first. By summoning Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires and invoking Article 10 of the 1991 agreement, India has shifted the incident from "accident" to "treaty violation" — a politically firm but deliberately calibrated move. Pakistan, by rejecting the allegations and alleging a provocative Indian manoeuvre, is trying to turn the same frame around.
- That the protest was lodged with a Charge d'Affaires rather than a High Commissioner underlines how thin the diplomatic channel between the two states already is, limiting escalation options.
- The damage asymmetry itself does political work: INS Kolkata remaining deployed while PNS Hunain returned to harbour is a message India can use without overstating it.
- With the sequence of manoeuvres disputed by both sides, the real contest is over whose account looks more credible in international forums.
- By anchoring its case in the 1991 agreement, India has chosen a rules-based, treaty-based route over any military signalling — a strategy better suited to winning outside sympathy.
- Being the second such incident under the same framework after the 2011 PNS Babur episode invites the political criticism that confidence-building mechanisms exist on paper but are weakly enforced.
What to watch — Watch whether India keeps this confined to a bilateral protest or raises it in wider international settings, and whether it presses for fresh clarity on implementing the 1991 agreement.
The exact sequence of manoeuvres before the collision remains disputed; the story establishes neither intent nor fault on either side.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 7 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
On September 15, Pakistan Navy offshore patrol vessel PNS Hunain collided with Indian Navy destroyer INS Kolkata in the North Arabian Sea. India says the Pakistani vessel executed a dangerous high-speed overtaking manoeuvre, violating Article 10 of the 1991 India-Pakistan agreement on advance notice of military exercises, which bars naval ships and submarines from coming within three nautical miles of each other in international waters. Pakistan rejected the Indian account and alleged the Indian warship manoeuvred provocatively. INS Kolkata escaped major damage and stayed deployed at sea; PNS Hunain was damaged and returned to harbour.
Key facts
- PNS Hunain collided with INS Kolkata in the North Arabian Sea on September 15; India called it a 'dangerous overtaking manoeuvre' at high speed.
- Article 10 of the April 6, 1991 India-Pakistan agreement bars naval ships and submarines from approaching within three nautical miles (about 5.6 km) of each other in international waters.
- INS Kolkata is the lead ship of Project 15A Kolkata-class guided missile destroyers, built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai, commissioned August 2014.
- INS Kolkata is 164 metres long, has a full-load displacement of about 7,400 tonnes, sails at 30 knots and carries the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
- PNS Hunain (F-273) is an offshore patrol vessel built by Damen Shipyards in Romania, commissioned July 2024; about 98 metres long, roughly 2,600 tonnes, speeds up to about 24 knots.
- Hunain is the first of Pakistan's larger OPV 2600-based follow-on vessels to the Yarmook-class patrol ships.
- On September 18, an MEA spokesperson said India had examined Pakistan's response to the protest and rejected its allegations.
- In June 2011, PNS Babur came close to Indian frigate INS Godavari during anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, causing minor damage; India lodged a protest.
Timeline
- April 6, 1991India and Pakistan sign the Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements, whose Article 10 sets the three-nautical-mile naval separation rule.
- August 2014INS Kolkata, lead ship of the Project 15A class, is commissioned into the Indian Navy.
- June 2011PNS Babur comes close to INS Godavari during anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, causing minor damage; India protests.
- July 2024PNS Hunain (F-273), an OPV 2600-based offshore patrol vessel, is commissioned by Pakistan.
- September 15PNS Hunain collides with INS Kolkata in the North Arabian Sea; Hunain damaged and returns to harbour, INS Kolkata remains at sea.
- September 18MEA spokesperson says India has examined and rejected Pakistan's response to the diplomatic protest.
- September 20, 2026The report on the incident is published.
Who has a stake
- Indian Navy / INS Kolkata — Operational safety of a frontline destroyer conducting routine surveillance; the ship suffered no major damage and remains deployed at sea.
- Pakistan Navy / PNS Hunain — Its newly commissioned OPV was damaged and had to return to harbour; Pakistan contests India's version of events.
- Ministry of External Affairs, India — Lodged a strong protest, summoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires and rejected Pakistan's allegations on September 18.
- Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires in New Delhi — Summoned by India to receive the protest over the alleged violation of the 1991 agreement.
- India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad — Instructed to raise the matter with Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.
- 1991 bilateral CBM framework — Its credibility as a military confidence-building mechanism is tested by a second reported naval collision.
Why it matters
A collision between warships of two nuclear-armed neighbours in international waters carries a high risk of escalation through miscalculation, which is precisely what the 1991 confidence-building agreement was meant to prevent. With both sides giving conflicting accounts and the exact sequence of manoeuvres unresolved, the incident exposes how thin the margin of safety at sea has become. India's response — a demarche rather than escalation — signals reliance on existing bilateral rules of conduct even in disputed circumstances.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Article 10 of the April 6, 1991 India-Pakistan agreement: naval ships and submarines must not approach within three nautical miles (about 5.6 km) in international waters.
- Three nautical miles equals about 5.6 km; the rule is bilateral, not a universal international maritime rule for all warships.
- INS Kolkata: lead ship of Project 15A Kolkata-class destroyers, built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, commissioned August 2014, carries BrahMos.
- PNS Hunain (F-273): OPV 2600-based offshore patrol vessel built by Damen Shipyards, Romania, commissioned July 2024, follow-on to Yarmook-class.
- India cited violations of both the 1991 bilateral agreement and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs).
- Precedent: June 2011 PNS Babur–INS Godavari close encounter in the Gulf of Aden during anti-piracy operations.
Mains framing
The September 15 collision between INS Kolkata and PNS Hunain in the North Arabian Sea illustrates both the value and the limits of India-Pakistan military confidence-building measures. Article 10 of the 1991 Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements obliges naval ships and submarines of the two countries to stay at least three nautical miles apart in international waters 'so as to avoid any accident', and India has framed the incident as a breach of both this bilateral rule and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. The causes lie in close-quarters operations by dissimilar platforms — a 7,400-tonne guided-missile destroyer and a 2,600-tonne offshore patrol vessel — in contested maritime space, compounded by mutually contradictory accounts: India alleges a dangerous high-speed overtaking manoeuvre, Pakistan alleges provocative Indian manoeuvring. The implications are escalatory risk from tactical miscalculation at sea, and erosion of trust in agreed rules of conduct, as the 2011 PNS Babur–INS Godavari episode already showed. The way forward, on the evidence of the source, has been diplomatic: summoning Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires, instructing India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad to raise the matter with Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, and advising that Pakistani military units exercise due care and comply with bilateral agreements to prevent recurrence. Establishing the exact sequence of manoeuvres remains the key unresolved question.
Key terms
- Article 10, 1991 India-Pakistan Agreement
- Provision requiring naval ships and submarines of both countries to stay more than three nautical miles apart in international waters to avoid accidents.
- Project 15A / Kolkata-class destroyer
- Indian Navy class of guided missile destroyers built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders; INS Kolkata is the lead ship, commissioned in August 2014.
- Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV 2600)
- Damen-designed patrol ship class for maritime security and military operations; PNS Hunain is Pakistan's first larger OPV 2600 follow-on to the Yarmook-class.
- International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
- Global navigational-safety rules that India says the Pakistani manoeuvre violated, alongside the 1991 bilateral agreement.
- Charge d'Affaires
- Head of a diplomatic mission below ambassador rank; Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires in New Delhi was summoned to receive India's protest.
- Confidence-building measure (CBM)
- Agreed military restraint mechanism, such as the 1991 pact, meant to reduce the risk of miscalculation between India and Pakistan.
Practice questions
- Discuss the role of bilateral military confidence-building measures such as the 1991 India-Pakistan agreement in preventing escalation at sea. Illustrate with recent naval incidents.
- The INS Kolkata–PNS Hunain collision occurred in international waters. Examine how bilateral agreements and international navigational rules together govern warship conduct in such waters.
- What are the escalation risks of tactical incidents between navies of nuclear-armed neighbours, and what institutional mechanisms can manage them?
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.