A potent strike force, Indian Navy also takes up humanitarian assistance and disaster relief work
Naval frigate Taragiri, since decommissioned, was out at sea on patrol when the killer waves of the calamitous tsunami struck the Indian Ocean littoral countries in 2004. The Mumbai-based warship was signalled to set course for the Southern Naval Command in Kochi from where it stacked up relief and rehabilitation material and headed straight to Galle in Sri Lanka, which had witnessed widespread devastation.
In the next 14 days, the ship was able to construct shelters for some 1,200 people to live, provide medical aid to 2,500 people, create sanitation facilities, repair boats, clean water supply lines and some 800 wells that had been contaminated.
Simply put, the ship’s company won the hearts and minds of the people of Galle and the Sri Lankan administration. Such goodwill stays, recalls Commodore G. Prakash, who as a young commander skippered Taragiri at the time of the relief operation.
There were other nations, too, carrying out similar work, but the Indian naval team, with two engineering companies of the Army attached to it for undertaking civil reconstruction work, was head and shoulders above the rest. “The point is, we are trained and equipped for war, but actually do a gamut of things. Same with the Army and this is possible because of our doctrinal synergy, versatility and adaptability,” says Cmde Prakash, serving now as Commanding Officer of the naval base station INS Venduruthy.
Several Roles
A blue water force with potent strike power and an instrument of diplomacy, the Navy also dons several other roles such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) work in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), assistance to civil authorities and support to the Coast Guard in search and rescue operations. It also oversees coastal security operations, in which the Coast Guard is mandated to play the lead role. The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral A.R. Karve right now, doubles up as Commander-in-Chief of Coastal Defence in the South — a system brought about in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
“It’s a brown water job that’s been assigned to the Navy, to strengthen other maritime agencies that are stakeholders in security and bring them up to a certain level of operational efficiency within the coastal security architecture,” an officer explains.
As for HADR operations, ships based at the Southern Naval Command fanned out to different parts of the world, to Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Indonesia et al to name a few, in the recent past with tonnes of relief material for assistance.
“It’s a standard procedure to equip every naval ship out at sea with HADR bricks in anticipation of call for help. Each of our ships is capable of taking on a variety of roles depending on the task at hand. The personnel are also trained to adapt and respond to a multitude of situations,” says Rear Admiral K. Swaminathan, Chief Staff Officer (Training) at the Southern Naval Command.
Training for Students
Command Plans Officer Phani Kumar adds that the Navy recently gave a day-long training to members of the Students Rapid Response Force constituted in Kozhikode district for swift response to calamities.
Speedy assistance in times of emergency is something that both the Navy, as the net provider of security in the region, and the Coast Guard, as the prime responder to maritime rescue requirements, carry out as a matter of routine. “Coordination and cooperation with the State and district administrations is an ongoing process, and at various levels,” Cdr Kumar explains.
The Command Clearance Diving Team remains on call 24x7 for diving operations, as water-related exigencies are commonplace in Kerala. The Command provided diving assistance to the State administration 28 times since December, 2016, at the request of the district authorities of Ernakulam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala Police. “The team gets down to work without delay, the only time taken is to choose the right gear for the particular contingency to be addressed,” says Rear Admiral Swaminathan.
Capacity building topping its agenda, the Command, in June this year, trained a batch of NCC cadets in scuba diving. It’s a formidable cooperation, given that a naval diving team remains stationed at the venue of the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Trace each year for rescue support.