Indian Coast Guard ship in Philippines to bolster bilateral maritime cooperation

New Delhi: Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Paheredar, a specialised Air pollution Management Vessel, is in Manila Bay within the Philippines as a part of an abroad deployment to ASEAN nations, officers stated on Tuesday. The ship is provided with specialised marine air pollution management tools and a Chetak Helicopter in air pollution response configuration, designed to comprise, and get better spilled oil and increase the operation, they stated.

The ICG ship arrived at Manila Bay on March 25 on a three-day go to.

“The go to of a specialised Air pollution Management Vessels is a part of a broader initiative aimed toward demonstration of ICG’s marine air pollution response capabilities and shared concern and resolve in direction of marine air pollution within the ASEAN area, in addition to bolstering bilateral cooperation with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG),” the Defence Ministry stated in an announcement right here. The ICG ship is on an abroad deployment to ASEAN nations — the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei — from March 25 to April 12.

“The deployment is the third in a row by the Indian Coast Guard to ASEAN nations. Earlier within the 12 months 2023, ICG Air pollution Management Vessels visited Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia as a part of the initiative,” it stated.

Throughout this deployment, the ship is scheduled to make port calls in Manila (Philippines), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), and Muara (Brunei). The demonstration at visiting ports contains air pollution response coaching and a sensible show of varied tools, the assertion stated. Moreover, the ship has additionally embarked 25 cadets of the Nationwide Cadet Corps (NCC) to take part within the Indian authorities’s initiative ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’, and supply it a global outreach in coordination with companion nations, officers stated.

As a part of an abroad alternate programme, the NCC cadets, in coordination with ICG ship crew, companion companies personnel, Indian embassy or mission employees, and native youth organisations will undertake seashore clean-up and comparable actions in the course of the port name of the ship, the assertion stated.

“This go to holds important significance in strengthening bilateral relationships with key maritime companies, together with the Philippine Coast Guard, Vietnam Coast Guard, and Brunei Maritime companies,” it stated.

ICG has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in direction of enhanced maritime cooperation and maritime security and safety with the Coast Guards of the Philippines and Vietnam.

These relationships have developed over time to make sure security, safety and addressing of marine surroundings issues within the area. The go to’s agenda contains skilled exchanges, cross-deck visits, joint workouts, in addition to official and social engagements together with visits to capacity-building services, the officers stated.

“ICGS Samudra Paheredar, stationed on the east coast of India in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, is beneath the command of Deputy Inspector Basic Sudhir Ravindran. Over time, Samudra Paheredar has efficiently undertaken numerous Coast Guard operations, together with air pollution response, IMBL/EEZ surveillance, counter-transnational crimes, and maritime search and rescue (SAR),” the assertion stated.