Indian Navy’s ‘Mission Sagar’ clocked twice the circumference of earth to assist nations globally

Continuing the role as the first responder at a time of exigency, the Indian Navy’s outreach program ‘Mission Sagar’ has been assisting nations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mission Sagar in a nutshell

As part of this outreach initiative, the Indian Navy since May 2020, has deployed its ships to serve 15 friendly foreign nations under Mission SAGAR.

These deployments spanned over 215 days at sea and delivered cumulative assistance of more than 3,000 MT of food aid, over 300 MT LMO, 900 Oxygen Concentrators, and 20 ISO containers.

Under these missions, Indian Naval Ships have clocked a cumulative distance of close to 40,000 nautical miles which is nearly twice the circumference of the earth.

Apart from providing COVID-19 aid, the Indian Navy ships also provided rescue, medical care, and relief to around 3,500 people in the city of Beira, Mozambique, post Cyclone IDAI.

It is noteworthy that the Indian Navy carried out several Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and has been continually making efforts to help the affected people around the globe.

Equipping Mozambique’s armed forces with modern defence arsenal

Besides humanitarian aid, India has also extended the support for capacity-building efforts to the Mozambique Armed Forces. On similar lines, INS Kesari delivered two Fast Interceptor Crafts – a high-speed interceptor boat being built by L&T Shipyard, which is intended for patrol and rescue operations along with self defence equipment to the Armed Forces of Mozambique.

These landmark efforts for the maritime neighbors, highlight the importance accorded by India to these special relationships.

It is noteworthy that previously, INS Kesari had undertaken a similar mission in May – June 2020 to provide humanitarian and medical assistance to countries like Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, including deployment of Medical Assistance Teams of the Indian Navy in multiple locations.

Indian Navy’s endeavour to enhance maritime cooperation

As part of the Indian Navy’s endeavour to enhance maritime cooperation with the friendly navies, Sail Training Ship INS Sudarshini was also deployed last year to the Gulf region.

During the month-long deployment, INS Sudarshini made port calls at Muscat, Dubai and Bandar Abbas and had professional interactions with Royal Oman Navy (RNO), UAE Navy and Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Navy.

The ship delineated indigenous shipbuilding capabilities and revisited India’s historic maritime linkages with the Gulf. Further, it undertook various training exchanges, wherein sail training was imparted to trainees from RNO and IRI Navy and sea sorties conducted.

Besides, the ship also participated in Bilateral Maritime Partnership Exercises with RNO and IRI for enhancing interoperability between the Navies.

Indian Navy’s outreach program ‘Mission Sagar’

On 30th August 2021, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat arrived at Ho Chi Minh City Port in Vietnam carrying 100 Metric Tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) in 05 ISO Containers and 300 Oxygen Concentrators of 10 LPM capacity as per the requirement projected by the Government of Vietnam in its fight against COVID-19.

Before that on 24th August 2021, INS Airavat arrived at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia, and disembarked 10 Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) containers, based on the requirement projected by the Government of Indonesia.
Earlier on 24 July 2021, the ship trans-shipped medical aid which comprised 05 Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) containers (100 MT) and 300 Oxygen Concentrators to Indonesia.

Humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka

Supporting Sri Lanka’s fight against COVID19, the Indian Navy’s INS Shakti delivered 100 tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) to Colombo on 22 August 2021.

Addressing the ship’s crew of INS Shakti, Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne expressed his profound gratitude to the Indian Navy for their all-out support extended in the swift delivery of supplemental oxygen to Sri Lanka.

Consolidating the spirit of goodwill in bilateral maritime relations between India and Sri Lanka, the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy made a personal call to former Chief of Naval Staff of India Admiral Karambir Singh for possible support in this regard.

As a result of this dialogue, INS Shakti ferried 100 tons of oxygen from the Visakhapatnam Port and the ship arrived in Colombo on the evening of 22nd August.

Further, India also extended the assistance of approx. 40 tons of medical-grade oxygen, which Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) Shakthi on-boarded from Trincomalee harbor port of Chennai, Indian on 17th August 2021. The Sri Lankan naval ship arrived at the port of Colombo at midnight on 22nd August 2021.

All these deployments are in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Security & Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) and highlight the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighboring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.