Indian Coast Guard Ships Visit to Colombo, Galle

Indian Coast Guard Ships Vaibhav and Abhiraj, an Offshore Patrol Vessel and Fast Patrol Vessel, are scheduled to visit Colombo from Dec. 23-27, 2024, and Galle from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2, 2025.

The Commanding Officers of the Indian Coast Guard Ships, Commandant Navtej Singh Sohal and Commandant (JG) S Sujith will call on the Director General of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard and other Senior Officers.

Further, during the visit, joint training on VBSS, Fire Fighting and Damage Control, Maritime Pollution Response, and various professional interactions will be conducted.

The ships would host reception onboard for guests from Sri Lanka, including senior officials from defense hierarchy and civil administration.

The ship will organize a yoga event to showcase Yoga demonstrations for achieving physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

During the visit, the ships will also engage in social interactions like beach cleaning and walkathons to raise awareness of marine plastic pollution under “Puneet Sagar Abhiyan.”

In addition, a SAGAREX with Sri Lanka Coast Guard Ship off Colombo is planned for post departure on Dec. 27.

To further the people-to-people connection and enhance awareness about the Indian Coast Guard and its capability, the ships will be open for a visit by Sri Lanka Coast Guard personnel.

The visit of the Indian Coast Guard Ships is also significant because of the potential for cooperation between India and Sri Lanka to augment the capabilities of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard in efficiently addressing shared challenges for maritime security in the region.

It may be recalled that Indian Naval Submarine Vela had visited Colombo from November 10-13 earlier.

Visits by Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels to Sri Lanka aim to consolidate camaraderie and interoperability between the two neighboring friendly Navies. This is in keeping with India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.