New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence informed on Wednesday that it will conduct a two-day 11th National Maritime Search and Rescue exercise and workshop for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in Kerala's Kochi. The workshop will be undertaken from November 28 to 29 and the event will be inaugurated by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
ICG Director General S Paramesh, also the National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority, will also remain present during the event. The theme of the event will be 'Enhancing Search and Rescue capabilities through regional collaboration,' which informs about the ICG's commitment to provide assistance during "large-scale contingencies" in the Indian Search and Rescue region.
"The first day of the event will feature various programmes, including table-top exercise, workshop & seminars involving participation of senior officials from government agencies, Ministries & Armed Forces, various stakeholders and foreign delegates. On the second day, the sea exercise involving two large scale contingencies will be carried out off the Kochi coast with participation of ships & aircraft of ICG, Navy, Indian Air Force, Passenger Vessel & Tug from Cochin Port Authority and boats from the Customs," the press note released by Ministry of Defence read.
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According to the note, the first contingency would reproduce a distress situation onboard a passenger vessel consisting of 500 passengers. The second situation would show the ditching of civil aircraft with 200 passengers. This will be demonstrated using "new-age technology."
"The response matrix in the sea exercise will involve various methods to evacuate distressed passengers, wherein the advent of new-age technology using satellite-aided distress beacons, drones to deploy a life buoy, air droppable life rafts, operation of remote controlled life buoy will be demonstrated. The exercise is designed not only to evaluate efficiency of operations and coordination with national stakeholders, but also to aptly focus on cooperative engagements with the littorals and friendly countries," the note read.
The ICG has been moving towards a stable and effective Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) construct. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) member states for coordinating SAR in the Indian Ocean Region, where ICG is the implementing agency, the note further read.
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"ICG has been nominated as a nodal agency for SAR activities in the Indo-Pacific Region. ICG's increased focus on the maritime safety aspect will go a long way in strengthening India's global responsibility in sync with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)," it said. (with Agency inputs)
