The training ships of the 01st Training Squadron of the Indian Navy arrived in Sri Lanka for a bilateral naval exercise today (24). 

Accordingly, Indian Naval Ship (INS) ‘Shardul’ and ‘Magar’ arrived at the Colombo harbour whereas INS ‘Sujata’, ‘Sudarshini’, ‘Tarangini’ and Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) ‘Vikram’ called at the port of Trincomalee. 

Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ships in compliance with naval traditions. In parallel, Flag Officer Commander - in – Chief Southern Naval Command Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla also arrived in Sri Lanka on an official visit.

Meanwhile, Captain Aftab Khan who serves as the Senior Officer for the 01st Training Squadron of Indian Navy also arrived in Sri Lanka. 

Commanded by Commander Anoop Sharma, ‘Shardul’ that made her port call in Colombo is 125m in length and has a crew of 155. The 125m long ‘Magar’ is commanded by Commander Upendra Aggarwal and she is manned by 156 crew members.

Arrived in Trincomalee with 139 members of the ship’s complement, ‘Sujata’ is 102m in length and she is commanded by Commander Sreejit S Nair. The sail training ships of the 01st Training Squadron of the Indian Navy ‘Sudarshini’ and ‘Tarangini’ are also among the ships that arrived in Trincomalee today. Commanded by Commander Srikanth Venugopal, ‘Sudarshini’ is 54m in length and has a crew of 47. Commanded by Commander Yatish Badoutiya, ‘Tarangini’ is quite similar to the size and crew of ‘Sudarshini’. Meanwhile, the 98m long training ship ICGS ‘Vikram’ with a crew of 93 is commanded by Commandant Umed Singh.

Further, the ships of the Training Squadron are scheduled to conduct bilateral naval exercises with the Sri Lanka Navy in Colombo and Trincomalee before they leave the island on 27th and 28th October. 

Besides, the crew members of the Indian Navy’s Training Squadron are expected to visit tourist attractions in Sri Lanka in conformity with the bio-bubble concept.

Sri Lanka Navy said it will conduct several training exercises with the visiting Training Squadron of the Indian Navy in Colombo and Trincomalee and these exercises will be held adhering to COVID-19 protocols in force to prevent possible transmission of the pandemic.