India warship to deploy with crew from 9 friendly nations

Panaji: Taking a major leap in its maritime partnership with friendly nations of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Indian Navy is all set for the maiden deployment of an Indian warship with 44 crew members from nine countries on board. The deployment, which will begin from Karwar on Saturday, will be flagged off by defence minister Rajnath Singh.
The deployment, in collaboration with regional maritime agencies, will see the INS Sunayna being used for a joint deployment as Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar. The deployment is part of the country’s demonstration of its commitment to being a significant security provider in the IOR.
“The Indian Navy’s maiden initiative of IOS Sagar concluded its harbour and sea training phase at Southern Naval Command, Kochi, and the ship with her crew, left for Karwar,” said an Indian Navy officer.
The vessel will have personnel from Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and South Africa on board. The month-long deployment will see the vessel visiting Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis, Port Victoria, and Male while also undertaking joint surveillance of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
“India and Africa give immense importance to maritime security and have reiterated their commitment to increase cooperation in tackling maritime security threats such as piracy, illegal activities including trafficking, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance,” said the Indian Navy in a statement.
The 44 foreign personnel underwent specially curated training ranging from basic seamanship activities to state-of-the-art simulator training at Kochi.Over the past 10 years, the Indian Navy deepened its partnerships with maritime agencies of the IOR to enhance maritime security.
INS Sunayna is a Saryu-class offshore patrol vessel built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited. Naval think tanks point out that the deployment of INS Sunayna aims to consolidate India’s position as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ and ‘First Responder’ in the IOR. It also aims to counteract China’s growing influence in the IOR.
“Over a period of time, slowly but surely, defence diplomacy, especially its maritime dimension, became a formidable vector of our international cooperation efforts in the IOR. By positioning itself and delivering on being the first responder and Preferred Security Provider, the Indian Navy is giving a palpable physical output to the PM’s vision of SAGAR,” said Commodore Srikant Kesnur (retd).