INS Tabar reaches Alexandria port as a part of international Maritime Partnership Exercise

As a part of the ongoing international Maritime Partnership Exercise, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar reached the Alexandria harbour on September 5, Sunday. The ship was received by Indian defence attache and the Egyptian Naval officers on its arrival at the port, ANI reported. As a part of the goodwill trip, the ship sailed off the Algerian coast with another the Algerian Naval ship 'Ezzadjer' on 29 August.

Indian Ambassador to Egypt, Ajit Gupte met the Captain of the ship and the crew members after the ship docked at Alexandria port. The Indian diplomat was given a tour of the ship were learned about the activities and related events to the ship's deployment, the Indian Navy said in a statement. Later, a celebratory dinner was organised by the Indian Embassy in Egypt on the ship that hosted the Rear Admiral of Alexandria Naval Base Ayman al-Daly as a Chief Guest and several other dignitaries from the Indian and Egyptian diaspora. "A reception was hosted by INS TABAR on the evening of 3 Sept 2021, during its port call in Alexandria," Mr. Gupte wrote on Twitter.

The reception was also graced by senior officers from the Egyptian Navy ships Hudra and Lesbos. Additionally, senior Commanding officers from Cyprus Navy ship Andreas Loannides were also present at the occasion. The ships were visiting Alexandria as a part of the Bright Star exercise with Egypt. "Indian cuisine and lively music band of INS Tabar made the evening a memorable one," the Indian Embassy in Egypt wrote on Twitter.

INS Tabar takes part in a landmark goodwill exercise

INS Tabar visited nine countries as part of her ongoing goodwill exercise. The third of the Talwar-calas frigate of the Indian Navy was an integral part of the international Maritime Partnership Exercise with Algerian Navy ship 'Ezzadjer.'

"As part of the exercise, diverse activities including coordinated manoeuvring, communication procedures and steam past were undertaken between the Indian and Algerian warships," Indian Navy said through a press release.

According to a spokesperson of the Navy, the exercise enabled the two navies to understand the concept of operations followed by each other, enhanced interoperability and opened the possibility of increasing interaction and collaboration between them in the future. The ship transited across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway and reached Egypt on September 5.

Indian warships on a goodwill visit

As many as four Indian warships including INS Mysore, INS Tabar, INS Ganga, and INS Aditya have been deployed on a goodwill visit to several maritime nations of Africa and the Indian Ocean. According to a defence spokesperson, the highly equipped naval warships held exercises with the international navies and coast guards of Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles, and Mauritius besides making port calls at Reunion Island and Mozambique to consolidate bilateral relations and interoperability at the sea. The visits aim to demonstrate the Indian Navy's blue water capability to deploy, operate and sustain a maritime task force well away from home for an extended duration.

With inputs from ANI

Image: @indemcairo/Twitter