Indian Navy’s outreach program ‘Mission Sagar’ now reaches Mozambique with humanitarian aid
Continuing India’s role as the first responder at a time of an exigency to the friendly nations, Indian Navy’s INS Kesari entered the port of Maputo, Mozambique to deliver 500 Tons of food aid to support the efforts of Government of Mozambique to cope with ongoing drought and concurrent challenges of pandemic.
This is the eighth such deployment, which is being aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of security and growth for all in the region. The mission is being conducted in close coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.
Under ‘Mission Sagar’, the Indian Navy has been deploying its ships to send medical and humanitarian aid to the counties in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and beyond.
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 the similar lines, INS Kesari delivered two Fast Interceptor Craft – 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 neighbours, highlights 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 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’
In August this year, 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, 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.
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 Chief of Naval Staff of India Vice 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.
The deployment is in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR’ and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighboring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.
Mission Sagar in a nutshell
Since May 2020, the Indian Navy has deployed its ships to serve 15 friendly foreign nations under Mission SAGAR.
These deployments spanned over 215 days at sea and delivered a 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 earth.
