On 30 July 2025, the Indian frigate "Tamal" (F 71) passed through the Kiel Canal on her way home. She was on a delivery voyage from Russia to the west coast of India, coming from St. Petersburg. 

After being christened "Tamal" in Kaliningrad at the beginning of July, India is preparing to integrate the eighth and final ship of the Krivak III frigates built in St Petersburg and Kaliningrad into its navy as the Talwar class (project 1135.6). The first three (Talwar 1st batch) had already been built in St Petersburg twenty years ago. The next three (2nd batch) were built and taken over in Kaliningrad in 2012 - including the last two "Tushil" and "Tamal" as the 3rd batch. However, it took a good ten years for them to mature on the helms near Yantar on the banks of the Pregel: originally started as the second batch of the Russian Admiral Grigorovich class, they could not be completed due to the failure of the gas turbine delivery from Ukraine. However, India was able to acquire these propulsion systems from the Ukraine and have them installed - it just took a while. India is building the next two units (Talwar 4th batch) itself at the Goa Shipyard in the south-west of the subcontinent - true to the slogan "Make in India". From the 2nd batch onwards, the main armament includes the BrahMos PJ-10 supersonic cruise missile developed in Russian-Indian cooperation with a range of 300 kilometres and a 300-kilogram effective load against sea and land targets.

The ship was officially put into service on 1 July 2025 with its christening in Kaliningrad. It set off for St. Petersburg at the end of July to visit the city for several days. It was originally planned to take part in the celebrations for the Russian Navy's birthday on 27 July 2025, but this was cancelled at short notice due to an imminent Ukrainian drone attack.

On its way to its new home, the eighth unit of the Talwar class passed the English Channel on 1 August 2025, heading west. The ship, which is powered by two gas turbines and has a maximum speed of 30 knots, visited Casablanca (Morocco) from 6 to 9 August 2025. After leaving Casablanca, "Tamal" carried out a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) with the Moroccan frigate "Mohammed IV" (FREMM class), before passing through the Strait of Gibraltar on 10 August 2025. Another PASSEX took place in the Mediterranean with the amphibious helicopter carrier (LHD) "Trieste" of the Italian Navy before calling at the port of Naples from 13 to 16 August 2025. During the PASSEX, communication exercises and maritime manoeuvres as well as CROSSPOL (mutual visits by crew members) and flight operations were carried out.

According to the Indian Navy, the 124.8 metre long and 4,100 tonne displacement frigate will visit several European and Asian ports on its way to its new home base.