Navy warships on goodwill visit to African nations

Four Indian warships INS Mysore, INS Tabar, INS Ganga and INS Aditya have been deployed on a goodwill visit to several maritime nations of Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Four Indian warships INS Mysore, INS Tabar, INS Ganga and INS Aditya have been deployed on a goodwill visit to several maritime nations of Africa and the Indian Ocean.

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The warships will hold naval exercises with the navies and coast guards of Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles and Mauritius besides making port calls at Reunion Island and Mozambique, a defence spokesperson said.

Wide-ranging professional discussions and a number of sports and social engagements will take place with the host navies while in harbour, and it will be followed up with naval exercises, he said.

The visit will also include the biennial naval exercise 'IBSAMAR' among the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa.

The naval exercises are meant to promote greater inter-operability and foster synergy between the Indian Navy and other participating navies.

The Indian Navy has already been conducting formal exercises annually with several foreign navies since several years, such as the 'Varuna' series with the French Navy, the 'Indra' series with the Russian Navy and the 'Konkan' series with the UK's Royal Navy.

The professional skills and experiences exchanged during these interactions would go a long way in enhancing cooperation and understanding the nuances of naval operations, as well as disaster management and combating maritime threats of terrorism and piracy, he said.