Since last week, the Mozambican Navy has been carrying out an exercise off the south-east African coast in partnership with Tanzania and India, with a view to strengthening security against pirate incursions.
According to information published on Tuesday (26) by DefenceWeb, the trilateral activity ends this Friday, 29 March, and is being carried out by two Indian warships – the cadet training ship INS Tir (A86) and the Sukanya class patrol ship INS Sujata (P56).
“The exercise is taking place after a merchant ship called ‘Abdullah’, which was sailing from the Mozambican capital Maputo to Al Hamriyah in the United Arab Emirates carrying 58,000 tonnes of coal, was hijacked by pirates last Tuesday (19),” said the South African website, according to which the first edition of the trilateral exercise took place in October 2022, with the participation of the frigate INS Tarkash (F50) in an exercise with the navies of Tanzania and Mozambique.
“The current edition is divided into two phases, the first of which began with a planning conference, followed by joint harbour training activities such as damage control, firefighting, search and seizure procedures, medical lectures, casualty evacuation and diving operations,” he revealed.
DefenceWeb stressed that the maritime phase of the exercise, which runs until 27 March, covers practical aspects of combating asymmetric threats, search and seizure procedures, vessel handling, manoeuvres and shooting exercises.
“During the maritime phase, joint surveillance of the exclusive economic zone is included. The exercise will end with a joint debriefing scheduled for the Port of Nacala in Mozambique,” he emphasised.
