India starts sharing maritime data

Information Fusion Centre — Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) was set up last year

The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) set up last year has started functioning as an information sharing hub of maritime data and “cuing incident responses” to maritime security situations through a collaborative approach, Navy sources said.

At the just concluded Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC), National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had offered countries in the IOR use of the facility to track movement of vessels on the high seas.

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Source: thehindu.com

Pirate Attacks Continue Worldwide Despite Efforts to Control Them

ASIA – AFRICA – Although the rash of serious pirate attacks off the Somalian coast which we reported on almost a daily basis in the years leading up to 2017 have since diminished, that does not mean the seas of the world are now always a safe place to ply one’s trade. It was a concentrated, internationally coordinated policy of increased naval surveillance which managed to largely control the hijacking of container ships and tankers in the Indian Ocean, but elsewhere every day brings the risk of assault on the innocent.

The Information Fusion Centre (IFC) is a division of the Indian Navy and its semi-annual report for South East Asia shows the state of play in the region. What should be made clear here is that the vast bulk of incidents worldwide are not truly ‘piracy’. To qualify for that title the vessel being assaulted must be at sea, therefore only one true pirate attack has taken place recently according to the IFC, that of the South Korean flagged bulk carrier CK Bluebell on July 22 near the Singapore Strait which passes Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

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Source: handyshippingguide.com

Indian Navy signs contract with ISRO for a new military satellite

For the procurement of a new military satellite to ease communications between its warships, aircrafts and shore- based units, the Indian Navy has placed an order with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for which the launch is likely to happen within a year.

The new missile satellite, named “GSAT 7R”, costs Rs 1,589 crore, inclusive of launch cost and procurement of key infrastructure on ground. The “GSAT 7”, first dedicated Indian military satellite, launched in 2013, is likely to be replaced by the new satellite system.

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Source: newdelhitimes.com

India launches Operation Sankalp to reassure Indian vessels

The development has come in the wake of the attack on oil tankers raising tensions between US and Iran

WRITTEN BY Sidhant Sibal

In a major development the Indian Navy has launched Operation Sankalp in the Persian Gulf/Gulf of Oman as a measure to re-assure Indian flagged vessels transiting through the region. The development has come in the wake of the attack on oil tankers raising tensions between US and Iran.

While Tehran denies involvement, Washington says that the West Asian country was behind it. Pentagon has released footage of Iran’s special forces removing unexploded mine.

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Source: dnaindia.com

Need for greater maritime collaboration in the Indian Ocean Region: Indian Navy Deputy Chief

Issues related to human and drug trafficking, maritime piracy and the legal aspects of combating these challenges are being discussed by experts at the Maritime Information Sharing Workshop, (MISW).

Stressing on the need for greater maritime collaboration, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral MS Pawar said there is a need to forge bonds based on trust, between partner countries in the region.

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Source: financialexpress.com

Maritime security: “The Indian Ocean has become a hub for drug trafficking,” says SAJ

BY EMILY PAYEN, BY PREITY RAMESSUR-BHOYROO

A presentation by the Ministerial Maritime Security in Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (ESA-OI) took place at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday 11 June. The meeting was attended by Minister Mentor Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nando Bodha.

“The Indian Ocean has become a hub of drug trafficking,” said the minister’s mentor. He explained that “we must take steps to counter this problem.”

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Source: defimedia.info

India spends big on Maldives security

Indian leader Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a coastal radar system and military training center in the Maldives on Saturday, as New Delhi seeks to fend off Chinese influence in the strategically-placed nation

The Maldives, a low-lying archipelago of more than a thousand tiny coral islands south of the Indian subcontinent, straddles the world’s busiest east-west maritime route.

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Source: english.alarabiya.net

A Maldivian coast guard ship *Hurawee* (801) (formerly Indian Navy Ship Tillanchang T62) serves as a non-compliant vessel during an exercise for a visit, board, search and seizure team assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Dubuque (LPD 8). Dubuque is participating in Operation Bungalow Breeze with the Maldives National Defense Forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David McKee/Released)

Indian Navy steps up anti-piracy patrol

Dinakar Peri

In an expansion of its Mission Based Deployments (MBD) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Navy deployed its P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft for anti-piracy sorties from Salalah in Oman to patrol the Gulf of Aden.

“Long-range maritime reconnaissance Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft P-8I undertakes anti-piracy patrol sorties from Salalah in the Gulf of Aden and other piracy prone areas in keeping with our MBD philosophy, to keep IOR safe and secure for all,” Navy spokesperson Captain D.K. Sharma said in a tweet on Saturday.

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Source: thehindu.com

Anti-piracy patrol targets Yemen fishermen

BySAEED AL-BATATI, QUSAYIR, YEMEN

A global anti-piracy task force deployed in the Arabian Sea to protect shipping lanes has engaged in invasive and violent searches and seizures of small Yemeni fishing vessels with apparent impunity, fishermen told Asia Times.

Multiple fishermen from Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramout say international warships, most recently from the Indian navy, have targeted them in deep water and sometimes even in Yemen’s territorial waters. The perceived harassment has spread panic in fishing communities along the Yemeni coast, compelling many to shorten their voyages and others to abandon the profession entirely – some even taking up arms in the war.

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Source: asiatimes.com

Indian Navy reviews outcome of Sea Vigil exercise

The Indian Navy and several other agencies involved in coastal defence and maritime security brainstormed over the outcome of the ‘Sea Vigil’ exercise — the first-of-its-kind multi-agency drill covering the entire 7,516 km-long Indian coastline and exclusive economic zone.

The mega exercise took place on January 22 and 23 with participation of 13 coastal states and union territories along with all maritime stakeholders with an aim to check the efficacy of maritime security and surveillance.

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Source: business-standard.com