INS Kadamba or Naval Base Karwar is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The base, which was commissioned on 31 May 2005, is being developed under the codename, Project Seabird. The Phase I of the project was completed in 2011 while the Phase IIA commenced after 2017 and is underway as of 2025.

As of 2024, both of the Navy's aircraft carriers and are based here.

History

During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists. At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns.

Existing naval bases in India (like Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and smaller naval enclaves like Dabolim and Kolkata) naval operations was hindered due to commercial shipping traffic, narrow approach channel, lack of expansion space. Visakhapatnam, the then largest naval base with a capacity of berthing 50 naval ships, did not have 8-9 metre depth required for entry of aircraft carriers like and was also not straight making manoeuvring of longer vessels difficult. Mumbai, on the other hand, had its last expansion in 1980s which included construction of a quay. But further expansions were not possible due to security threats for nearby tall buildings like Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the Bombay Stock Exchange and Ballard Pier. Its shallow waters also made berthing of soon-to-be acquired difficult. Kochi had no expansion prospect since it was a backwater harbour. The site was selected after technical and hydrographic surveys by institutes like the National Institute of Hydrology, the Central Water and Power Research Station and the National Institute of Oceanography. The harbour had advantages due to its hilly terrain, acting as a camouflage to ground installations and also as positions for the Navy to disperse its forces in case of an attack, along with its forested terrain, providing cover from surveillance satellites supported by infrared decoys. Other requirements for berthing, navigation of ships and necessary depth were also satisfactory.

As per initial timelines, construction of the project, estimated to cost , was to begin in January 1986 and completed within seven years. However, the project was shelved due to inadequate funds allocations in the defence budget. Attempts to revive the project failed twice, first in 1990 when a detailed project report (DPR) was drawn up but it stalled due to lack of funds for its phased implementation and again in 1995 when the government said it would be unable to fund the entire Phase I [worth ]. The Navy was asked to limit the Phase I expenditure to . Hence, the Phase I was again divided into two halves, the first of which was expected to be completed by 2005, while the entire Phase I by 2010. The ceremony was attended by the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Six frontline warships including aircraft carrier , destroyers , and frigates , and were docked in the naval base on the day. The project's Phase I, which was not yet complete, had already taken two decades since its inception.

Phase-I was completed at a total cost of in 2011.

The facilities that were developed under the first phase included:

  • The naval base occupies an area of and is spread across a -long coastline along the Arabian Sea.
  • Naval Ship Repair Yard (Karwar): A 10,000 tonne capacity shiplift with a ship transfer system for dry docking any ship of its fleet except replenishment oilers and aircraft carriers.
  • INHS Patanjali: A 141-bed naval hospital. The delays were attributed to unavailability of eligible Indian companies who would be able to handle such infrastructure projects. There were additional objections from the Finance Ministry about the estimated cost of the project as presented by the Navy. The approval from the Defence Ministry was granted in May 2012. The base would have the capacity of 32 warships and other ships including 10 of the fast-interceptor craft (FICs) of the Sagar Prahari Bal. The proposal was then forwarded to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. The Phase-IIA expansion was approved by the CCS on 6 December 2012. The project was worth .

Phase II-A

As of December 2015, the Indian Navy had acquired 11,334 acres of land from the State Government, which included 8,661 acres of forest land. The development of Phase IIA was expected to start from 2016.

By 2016, the commencement of Phase II-A was delayed by a year to 2017 and end in 2021–2022 with an estimated cost of . The project is expected to generate large scale employment and infuse money into the local economy. In this phase, the base will undergo the following upgrades:

  • Eight operational jetties, two refit jetties, four Covered Dry Berths and a full-fledged Naval Dockyard to handle additional ships
  • Four residential townships to accommodate 10,000 officers, sailors and defence civilian staff. The townships are situated in the east of Manzil Creek and Amadalli and includes 2,160 and 3,168 accommodation units for senior sailors and defence civilians, respectively. A Hyderabad-based company, NCC Ltd, has been contracted for its construction.
  • 9 April 2024: The then Chief of the Naval Staff, R. Hari Kumar, inaugurated a pier and a residential complex. Pier 3 or Offshore Patrol Vessels Pier is a 350 m long pier capable of berthing Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), large survey vessels and mine countermeasure vessels. The pier would supply the ships with a variety of shore-based facilities, which includes power, potable water, chilled water for air conditioning, a 30-ton mobile crane, and other domestic services. A residential housing consisting of two towers with 80 apartments each for married officers and 149 apartments for single officers, as well as associated facilities and outside services were inaugurated as well. The facility also included six towers housing 360 apartments of Type-II for civilian employees of the Defence Department were opened.
  • 5 April 2025: Two refit piers and 480 residential apartments for sailors and defence civilians along with support infrastructures including 25 km road network, 12 km stormwater drainage, water reservoirs among others were inaugurated by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh worth over . By then, work on the inner harbour was completed while that on the outer harbour, "with the requisite breakwaters and jetties", was underway.
  • 14 October 2025: The Navy chief, Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, in the presence of other senior officers inaugurated four towers including 240 dwelling units (DU) each for married senior sailors and defence civilians, respectively.

Phase II-B

After the completion of this phase of the project, which is under planning stage as of 2025, INS Kadamba will be able to base 50 frontline warships as well as 40 auxiliary ships, and will be the biggest naval base east of the Suez Canal.

Stage-II Recruitment Centre

A Stage-II Recruitment Centre was inaugurated at the Naval Base on 12 November 2025. This is the tenth such centre in the Navy.

Important milestones

  • Initial Sanction - 1985
  • Foundation Stone laid - 24 October 1986
  • Acquisition of land - 1985–1988
  • Master Plan & DPR - 1990
  • Truncated Phase 1 sanctioned - Oct 1995
  • Execution of project - 1999–2005
  • Rehabilitation Phase 1 - 1995–1999
  • Construction commenced - 2000
  • Priority Housing - February 2003
  • Breakwater completed - February 2004
  • Sailors Residential Colony - July 2004
  • Anchorage completed - November 2004
  • Pier completed - February 2005
  • Officers Colony at Kamath Bay - February 2004
  • Docking of the first navy ship INS Shardul
  • Phase 2 construction commenced - 2016
  • Berthing of Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant - May 2023
  • Phase 2A Pier 1 and 2 completed - March 2024