Navy to carry crew from 9 countries at drill
For the first time, the Navy will carry a crew of nine friendly countries on a warship that is scheduled for a month-long operational deployment and conduct a maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean.
Naval warship — INS Sunayna — will leave on Saturday from Karwar on the West coast for its deployment to the south-western part of the Indian Ocean. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will flag off the warship.
In a unique effort to coordinate with ‘Global South’ countries, naval officers and crew from nine friendly foreign countries will be on board the warship. They will work alongside Indian naval personnel.
The offices and crew of nine countries will be manning stations on board the ship during regular operations that would include radar imagery, direction of ship’s sail, watchtower and duties in engine and maintenance rooms.
The countries being represented on board the Indian warship are Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
The warship will first go to Tanzania and participate in the inaugural 10-nation “India-Africa maritime exercise” being conducted off Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The exercise is being co-hosted by the Indian Navy with the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force.
Following the exercise, the INS Sunyana will conduct patrols in the exclusive economic zones of three countries and also visit two ports.
Prior to embarking on the month-long deployment, the naval personnel of the friendly foreign countries underwent a specially curated training capsule at Kochi. The training included basic seamanship activities to state-of-the-art simulator training.
The international crew was trained together on various facets of communication skills, firefighting and damage-control drills.
Post flag-off of the INS Sunyana, the Defence Minister will inaugurate multiple maritime infrastructure and support facilities at Karwar. He will also meet the naval top brass as the Navy commanders’ conference kicks off at Karwar tomorrow.
The conference is a biannual event, facilitating deliberations on significant strategic, operational and administrative issues.
India