India and the European Union (EU) carried out their maiden naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea off the west African coast on October 24 (Tuesday) to boost maritime security cooperation, the navy said in a statement on Thursday.
The exercise followed the third meeting of the EU-India Maritime Security Dialogue on October 5 in Brussels. Four warships took part in the drills.
“During the exercise, INS Sumedha, an offshore patrol vessel, was joined by three EU member states’ ships– Italian Navy Ship ITS Foscari, French Navy Ship FS Ventôse, and Spanish Navy Ship Tornado. The four ships practiced a series of tactical manoeuvres in international waters off the coast of Ghana, including a boarding exercise, a flying exercise using the helicopters embarked on Ventôse and Sumedha, and transfer of personnel between ships,” the statement said.
The exercise was followed by a knowledge sharing session in Accra, Ghana, which built on the joint experience at sea to improve operational know-how.