Initially, there were reports in Russian and Indian media of a crew from the Indian Navy heading to Vladivostok later in November 2008, where they will start "trainings and preparations" aboard Nerpa.
Pada mulanya, terdapat laporan media di India dan Rusia bahwa anak kapal dari AL India akan menuju ke Vladivostok pada bulan November 2008, di mana mereka akan memulai "latihan dan persiapan" di atas kapal selam Nerpa.