A two days long half yearly Coastal Security Exercise “Sagar Kavach” was held on October 8-9, 2020, along the coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka and Lakshadweep to check Coastal Security mechanism and validate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). It assesses the preparedness of security agencies to deal with an asymmetric threat from sea.
- The exercise was closely monitored from Joint Operations Centre, Kochi (Kerala) and reviewed by Southern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.
Participants:
A total of 20 ships of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) as well as 50 patrol crafts manned by various security agencies took part in the exercise which include Coastal Police, Coastal District Administration, Cochin Port, Fisheries Department, Customs, Marine Enforcement Wing (MEW), Central Industrial Security force (CISF), Intelligence Bureau (IB), LightHouse Department and fishermen community.
How did Sagar Kavach take place?
During the exercise, the participants were divided in two teams, Red (attack) and Blue (defence), with the Red Force simulating as terrorists attempting attack at coastal areas of the state and Blue Force carrying out coastal security surveillance to intercept and neutralize the attempts.
- A high level of coastal surveillance was maintained all along the Kerala coast during the period.
- A wide range of security contingencies including multi-layer security, infiltration from seaward, simulated attacks on vital installations/ assets, hijacking of merchant ships, and cross landings were exercised.
Recent Related News:
i.The 6th International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2020” was held between August 23-29, 2020 at the Patriot Park near Moscow, Russia which was organized by Russian Defence Ministry and operated by International Congresses and Exhibitions Ltd. (ICE Ltd).
ii.The 11th Edition of bi-annual, bilateral Maritime Exercise INDRA NAVY – 20 between Indian Navy and Russian Navy was conducted successfully from September 4 to 5. The Exercise was conducted in Bay of Bengal, close to the Strategic point of Strait of Malacca.
About Indian Navy:
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS)– Admiral Karambir Singh
Integrated Headquarters (IHQ) of Ministry of Defence-MoD (Navy)- New Delhi
