The vessel traversed nearly 20,000 nautical miles in nine countries of Europe and Africa
By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Sept 23:
The Indian Naval Ship INS Tabar was mission-deployed in international waters for over three months from June 13 onwards, to enhance military cooperation with friendly nations, during which she made 11 port calls in nine countries of Europe and Africa, traversing nearly 20,000 nautical miles.
In all ports, the ship received a warm reception from local officials and was visited by several local dignitaries. The ship’s port visits saw various social and professional interactions conducted with the host countries.
The ship also undertook twelve maritime partnership exercises with foreign navies at sea. These also included prominent bilateral exercises such as Exercise “Konkan 21” with the Royal Navy and Exercise “Indra-Navy 21” with the Russian Navy. These exercises involved wide-ranging and multi-dimensional evolutions covering a diverse range of naval operations.
The exercises are deemed to have enhanced interoperability among participating navies and increased the ease with which they can operate together to address shared maritime concerns and threats if required. A few of these exercises were maiden engagements, such as that with the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Algerian Navy, and the Sudanese Navy, an official statement here said.
INS Tabar also participated in the 325th-anniversary celebrations of the Russian Navy at St. Petersburg in Russia Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff, also attended the event.
Post successful completion of this Operational Deployment, the INS Tabar is now deployed for patrol in the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf. Commanded by Captain Mahesh Mangipudi, INS Tabar is a stealth frigate and has a crew of 300 personnel. Belonging to the Western Fleet, she had participated earlier in counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Sailing regattas and a sail parade
In the meanwhile, as part of commemorative activities of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav,(75 th years of Independence) the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA) has planned to conduct Sailing regattas and a sail parade by Sailing boats and dingies in all three Command Headquarters-Mumbai (Maharashtra), Kochi (Kerala) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) locations for popularising Sailing sports among the local population.
The first event is scheduled to be conducted by the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre, Kochi in Ernakulam channel (Kerala) on September 23, Thursday. A total of 75 Naval personnel will participate and showcase their yachting skills during the event. The Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Southern Naval Command will be the Chief Guest for the event. Indian Naval Ocean Sailing Vessels, sailing boats, and sailing dinghies of Southern Naval Command will take part in the regatta and sail parade.
The Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Yachting events at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam are scheduled to be held in October and November respectively.
