The ships of First Training Squadron (1TS) - INS Tir, INS Sujata, Sail Training Ship Sudarshini and CGS Sarathi are presently on a long-range training deployment to South East Asia, the Ministry of Defence said on 25th September.

The ministry said that this deployment is part of the ongoing afloat training of the 105th Integrated Officers' Training Course. 

The ministry added that during the deployment, the ships will visit Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Various training activities, professional interactions and Joint Maritime Partnership Exercises are planned to be conducted with the host navies and maritime forces during the visit. 

Presently, trainees from friendly foreign countries- Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius and Vietnam are embarked onboard 1TS for the deployment. In addition, personnel from the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and NCC cadets are also embarking on furthering jointness and interoperability, the defence ministry official added.

The defence ministry also informed that this visit aims to strengthen India’s commitment towards Maritime Security and foster goodwill in the region. 

With a long history of goodwill, Kuwait and India have close ties in various facets. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between both countries.

The Mazgaon Dock Limited in Mumbai built the first specifically designed cadet training ship, INS Tir, which was commissioned on February 21, 1986.

On November 3, 1993, the Indian Navy launched the Sukanya class offshore patrol vessel INS Sujata, which was manufactured entirely domestically. The well-equipped offshore patrol (OPV) vessel "CGS Sarathi" was launched at Goa Shipyard Ltd. on September 12.

Image Source: TOI