Come September, the Southern Naval Command in Kochi will witness a historic mission, envisaged by none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. INS Sudarshini, Indian Navy’s second sail training ship will embark on a voyage to ASEAN countries, for the first time in the history of the Indian Navy.
A great endeavour for ‘Building Bridges across the Oceans’ as put by the vessel’s Commanding Officer, Sudarshini will touch 13 ports in nine countries in an effort to foster India’s relations with ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations).
It was the Prime Minister who conceived the vision of a voyage to commemorate the 10 years of India’s summit-level partnership with the ASEAN countries.
“ASEAN voyage of INS Sudarshini is intended to commemorate 20 years of dialogue partnership and 10 years of summit-level partnership with ASEAN. Our trainees will imbibe the essential art of seamanship, navigation and braving the elements along the way,” pointed out Vice-Admiral Satish Soni, Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command.
Defence Minister A K Antony will flag off the voyage on September 15. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is also expected to attend the event.
On the way the vessel will call at Chennai Port. The ports of call in South-East Asia are Padang, Bali, Manado (Indonesia), Port Muara (Brunei), Cebu, Manila (Phillipines), Da Nang (Vietnam), Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore, Port Klang (Malaysia), Phuket (Thailand) and Yangoon (Myanmar).
At each port of call, the personnel onboard Sudarshini will attend seminars, share their experiences and take part in joint exercises with the hosts.
On its way back, the vessel will touch Port Blair in the Andamans. On completion of the 192-day-long voyage, Sudarshini is expected to be back by March 26, 2013.
In addition to Commander Shyam Sundar, there will be four officers - Lt Com Nikhil, Lt Firos, Lt K K Verma and Lt Sandeep - a 31-member crew along with 30 cadets from the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard.
In a mission to cement India’s ties with the host nations, plans are afoot to take two foreign cadets each from the visiting ports, who will disembark on the next port. However, officials said that as of now no country has confirmed sending their cadets.
“It will be a mission to build bridges across the oceans. Our cadets will be exposed to the life at sea. Ocean is expected to be rough near the Indonesian archipelago. Also, crossing the South Chinese ocean is going to be tough.
The cadets will get what we call a ‘Sea Sense’ - a sea leg where they will get lessons on navigation and seamanship,” opined Commander Shyam Sundar, Commanding Officer, INS Sudarshini.
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