The government will chart out a plan for the evacuation of seafarers stuck on international waters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Union Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya has said. Thousands of Indian seafarers are currently stuck aboard cruise ships and cargo vessels in far off waters, and maritime bodies have been demanding from the government strategies for bringing them home fearing that delays might result in disruption in supply chain.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially commissioned the Vizhinjam International Seaport on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, whose presence at the inauguration, Modi said, will give 'sleepless nights' to many.
'The Pacific crossing was the longest and toughest leg.' 'Temperatures dropped near zero and they navigated through two cyclones.'
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has highlighted the emergence of space as a new domain of warfare and emphasized the need for developing a "space culture" to prepare for future conflicts. He called for dedicated space warfare schools and research institutions to generate ideas, develop doctrines and strategies, and create new capabilities for space warfare. Chauhan believes that space will be crucial for future warfare, impacting all traditional domains of land, sea, and air. The CDS's remarks were made at the Indian DefSpace Symposium, where he also highlighted the importance of space research and its role in shaping the future of warfare.
'Indians are basically liked because they are educated, they are intelligent.'
The Indian crew onboard a crippled container vessel that collided against a key bridge in Baltimore last week is healthy , according to a nonprofit organisation that has been in touch with the personnel.
Lieutenant Commanders Dilna K and Roopa A have successfully crossed the most dangerous passage in their historic 8-month sailing expedition around the globe.
Thirteen Indians are among the 16-member crew of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker that went missing after it capsized off the coast of Oman, the country's maritime authority said.
Chimaji Appaji remains one of the foremost military generals of the Maratha Empire who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Portuguese.
The Union home ministry on Tuesday allowed opening of shops selling school books and electric fans, services of bedside attendants of senior citizens and public utilities including recharge facilities for prepaid mobile phones during the ongoing lockdown.
Indian Navy's destroyer INS Kochi responded following the attack on the vessel, MV Andromeda Star, on April 26, officials said, adding all the crew members are safe.
"After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures as per the SOPs, the pirates on board the hijacked fishing vessel were forced to surrender. The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, have been safely rescued," the Indian Navy added.
The Indian crew members, who were onboard the Ship M V Victoria, which was hijacked on May 17 near the Somalia coast by heavily armed pirates, have been released, the Directorate General of Shipping on Friday said.
Twenty one Indian sailors aboard the ship MV Fairchem Bogey, which was hijacked last August, have been released by the pirates, the Directorate General of Shipping said on Saturday. This is the second piece of good news for the Indian seafaring community within a fortnight. Seventeen sailors from a hijacked Iranian ship had been released late in December. "All the 21 sailors are safe and the ship is now on its way to a safe port," said Director General of Shipping.
Suspected Somali pirates on Tuesday hijacked an Italian cargo vessel with 18 crew, including seven Indian seafarers, off the coast of Oman.
On how long the crew would have to stay on board the ship, the spokesperson said, "At this time, we do not know how long the investigation process will take and until that process is complete, the crew will remain on board."
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.
Stock to watch: Shipping Corporation and Great Eastern Shipping
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.
Somalian pirates were captured by Indian Navy ships Trishul and Sumedha during anti-piracy operations last week.
The fresh incident comes amid growing global concerns over attacks on various commercial vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi militants.
The Indian Navy's specialist team had protected them from nine armed pirates, and completed sanitization and seaworthiness checks of fishing vessel Al-Kambar.
'Women and children were crying desperately for help.' 'We had to save them first.'
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in Lok Sabha the Navy deployed its units in the Gulf of Aden and East coast of Africa towards anti-piracy patrols since 2008 and a total of 3,440 ships and over 25,000 seafarers have been "safely escorted".
Indian warship INS Sharda came to the rescue of the vessel FV Omaril with 11 Iranian and eight Pakistani crew members after it came under attack from pirates, they said.
Indian Navy on Wednesday said its ships and aircraft remain 'mission deployed' for maintaining enhanced surveillance and undertaking maritime security operations.
'Given that the situation is quickly escalating, such attacks will affect the flow of crude in the short term from West Asia' Subhayan Chakraborty and Dhruvaksh Saha report.
The two anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited were launched by Neeta Chaudhari, wife of Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
There is definitely much more to the mythical king than his ten heads and his abduction of Sita.
'Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, a faction operating in the Red Sea -- which is a typically safe area - has been firing projectiles arbitrarily.' 'Additionally, there have been two incidents involving Somali pirates, and one vessel has been hijacked.'
Eighteen Indian sailors stuck in China will return to India on February 14, union minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday.
India has asked Jordan to provide it with details of the Indian crew members who are on board the hijacked ship MV Victoria because the ship's operators are not cooperating. "The ship managers in Sharjah have been repeatedly requested to provide the contact details of the 10 Indian seafarers on board the MV Victoria, but no response has been received so far," the Directorate General of Shipping said in a statement on Friday.
Having survived the financial turbulence of 2008, India's Port and Shipping sector appears poised to sail into good times in the new year thanks to a slew of steps taken by the government in 2009 to remove bottlenecks.
Shipping: Policy to increase India flagged tonnage soon
'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'
The protocol is being maintained with all help in case of fever or sickness to those on board.
Iran's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker was allegedly due to a collision with an Iranian fishing boat, Iran's official news agency IRNA said.
Currently, India recycles around 300 of the 1,000 ships which are demolished per annum globally. However, countries like Japan, Europe and the US were not sending their ships for recycling to India in the absence of ratification of a global convention. That scenario is set to change with the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.
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