INDIA. Mumbai: Indian Navy’s frontline frigate, INS Tabar reached the Alexandria Port in Egypt on Sunday for two days as part of a goodwill visit and carried out joint naval exercise, including helicopter deck landing operations, with Egyptian Navy(EN).
India and Egypt share warm bilateral relations and ships of the Indian Navy have frequently visited Alexandria port. Commanding Officer INS Tabar, Captain M Mahesh, and his ship’s crew laid wreaths at Alexandria Naval Unknown Soldier Memorial. The Commanding Officer also called on Rear Admiral Ayman al-Daly, Commander of Alexandria Naval Base.
On departure from port, INS Tabar undertook a maritime partnership exercise at sea with the Egyptian Navy Ship Toushka. The exercise included helicopter deck landing operations and underway replenishment drills. These evolutions at sea exemplified naval cooperation and interoperability between the IN and EN. The goodwill visit by INS Tabar aimed at strengthening strong relations between the two sides and to explore newer avenues of bolstering the relationship, Defence Spokesman Commander Mehul Karnik said.
The Port of Alexandria is on the West Verge of the Nile Delta between the Mediterranean Sea and Mariut Lake in Alexandria, Egypt, and is considered the second most important city and the main port in Egypt. Alexandria port consists of two harbours (East and West) separated by a T-shaped Peninsula. The East harbour is shallow and is not navigable by large vessels. The West harbour is used for commercial shipping. The harbour is formed by two converging breakwaters. Alexandria Port is one of the oldest ports in the world. The earliest port facilities were built in 1900 BC in the then-village of Rhakotis, to service coastal shipping and supply the island of Pharos, now part of the “Ras al-Tin” quarter.
IN ship carries out under water surveys in Sri Lanka
In another development based on the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Indian Navy’s Hydrographic Survey ship INS Sarvekshak has reached Sri Lanka and has been carrying out an extensive underwater survey around MV Xpress Pearl which sank earlier this month. During the survey, a large number of submerged objects were detected. The Survey is being progressed with survey boats and integral helicopters for aerial recce in coordination with the National Aquatics Resource Research & Development Agency (NARA) and Hydrographic Office, Sri Lanka Navy.
MV X-Press Pearl,the Singapore-flagged cargo ship carrying oil 1,486 containers, caught fire on May 20. The fire was doused after an extensive India-Sri Lanka joint operation as part of Operation Sagar Aaraksha 2. Eventually the vessel sank on June 04,2021, after burning for almost two weeks, just outside Colombo’s harbour. At present a team of oil spill and chemical experts from the UN and the European Union is working with Sri Lankan agencies to assess the impact of the disaster.
