Aimed at enhancing the Navy's coastal surveillance, its largest offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra was formally commissioned by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan on Thursday.
Navy officials on Monday said that the swift response by the Indian Navy's mission deployed warship INS Sumitra ensured the safe release of the hijacked vessel and its crew.
The indigenously-built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel will be the presidential yacht and lead the presidential column for the 11th edition of the Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam.
Going beyond their call of duty, crew members of warship INS Sumitra ensured that the 306 Indians evacuated from Yemen have a comfortable journey back home after their ordeal in the war-ravaged country.
The Indian Navy rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani crew members and a Sri Lankan trawler in two swift operations after armed pirates hijacked the boats in the Arabian Sea amid deteriorating security situation arising out of Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting various cargo ships in the region.
The Navy said on Friday that the safety of the crew held hostage by armed pirates was ascertained and the Indian Navy warship continued to maintain its presence in the close vicinity of the vessel till its arrival in the territorial waters of Somalia.
In a calibrated operation, the Indian Navy on Saturday 'coerced' 35 Pirates onboard a merchant ship around 1,400 nautical miles from the Indian coast to surrender and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members without any injury, officials said.
The fresh incident comes amid growing global concerns over attacks on various commercial vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi militants.
The theme of the President's Fleet Review-2022 was 'Indian Navy -- 75 years in Service of the Nation', commemorating the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
India on Sunday evacuated 670 more nationals, including 488 from Sanaa by three Air India flights, taking the total number of Indians rescued from war-ravaged Yemen to nearly 2,300 after the "largest" evacuation in a day so far.
Indian Air Force aircraft carrying 452 Indians evacuated from strife-torn Yemen have arrived in Mumbai.
India tonight evacuated more than 300 Indians from Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah, taking the total number of those rescued to over 800 from the strife-torn country as government stepped up efforts to get clearance for air sorties to bring back its nationals from Sanaa.
After the rescue of more than 350 Indians from Aden, another batch of over 300 will be evacuated from Al Hudaydah on Thursday night.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said the evacuation of 348 Indian nationals from strife-torn Yemen was a national effort involving various aspects of the country's assets like the Air Force, Navy and Air India.
Over 660 Indian nationals evacuated from Yemen arrived home by two IAF planes and a special Air India flight on Friday night, taking the total number of evacuees who have been safely brought back from the strife-torn country to 1,022.
Close to 75 Indian warships and 24 from Navies across the globe are participating in the event.
Pranab Mukherjee inspected the fleet along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi from aboard the INS Sumitra.
The evacuation mission mounted by the government helped more than 5,000 Indians leave war-torn Yemen. The author goes behind the scenes to find out how this was achieved
Around 350 stranded Indians were evacuated on Wednesday from strife-torn Yemen's Aden city on an Indian Naval ship that will now take them to Djibouti, a country neighbouring Yemen and across the Red Sea.
The Eastern Naval Command is all geared up to host the International Fleet Review in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhpatnam coast which begins on Wednesday, a mega event that will witness participation from nearly 50 countries.
India on Tuesday night got permission to dock its ship at the Aden harbour for the evacuation of nearly 400 Indians from the sea port city as the government launched a massive air and sea evacuation operation for its over 4,000 nationals in strife-torn Yemen.
India has decided to extend air evacuation from Yemen till Thursday following a rescue request by a group of 140 nurses even as it pulled out another 450 people from the war-ravaged country, taking the total number of evacuees to 4500.
At war, the Jalashwa can carry and launch a full infantry battalion in a single wave. At peace, the Jalashwa can evacuate 1,000 people in a single trip. Ajai Shukla explains why the Indian Navy's new tender for more ships like the Jalashwa must be treated with special urgency.
Kolkata and its port area may face a terror attack, according to a warning issued by central intelligence agencies amid which the Navy has withdrawn its two warships that were docked at the port.
Access to Sabang Port will allow the Indian Navy to dominate Malacca Strait more effectively, reports Ajai Shukla.
After hectic diplomatic efforts, India finally got permission to land in Sanaa and the first flight with a passenger capacity of 120 has landed, the spokesperson in the external affairs ministry said.
As many as 350 Indians on Wednesday reached Djibouti after being evacuated on a Navy vessel from Aden, the seaport city of strife-torn Yemen.
Eight personnel of the 21 Para Regiment, which had undertaken a daring operation just inside Myanmar territory following the Manipur ambush, were among 67 for whom President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday approved Gallantry awards.
In the government's first major mission to rescue Indians stranded in the strife-torn nation
India on Thursday wrapped up its air evacuation operations from Yemen rescuing another 630 of its citizens from Sanaa, taking the total number of Indians brought home from the war-ravaged country to over 4,640 besides around 960 nationals from 41 countries.
India on Monday sent two passenger ships to Djibouti Port to evacuate Indians stranded in conflict-hit Yemen.
'We could not sleep for many days. We kept hearing gunshots and blasts throughout the night.' 'To live in a war-torn city is terrifying.' 'Our journey from the hospital to the port was the scariest.' 'We were taken care of so well by government officials. They did not leave a single person behind.'
"Our principles of operation were very clear -- 'Indians First, Others later' and 'No Indians, No Rescue'. When many people approached us (for evacuation) we told them Indians would be rescued first," said Captain Pradeep Singh, Commanding Officer of INS Tarkash, one of the vessels deployed in the operation.
A day after the Indian Space Research Organisation highlighted India's scientific capability by placing the spaceship, Mangalyaan, in orbit around Mars, another milestone in indigenous design was celebrated in New Delhi on September 25: The 50th anniversary of the Directorate of Naval Design.
The International Fleet Review, conceived as a show of the country's naval might and readiness for battle, saw as many as 100 naval ships, including 70 from the Indian Navy, taking part in the second edition of the coveted event.
'We had doctors from Syria who could not go home as the situation in their country is even worse. We are fortunate we have a safe home to come back to while they don't have that luxury.'
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