The High Commissioner of India Hon. Navdeep Suri invited Sydney’s Indian community and Australian Navy staff to attend an on board reception at the Indian Naval Ship INS Sumitra. INS Sumitra was berthed in Sydney from November 4 to 7 and took part in various activities like official calls, reception on board and professional interaction between personnel of the Indian and Australian navies.
INS Sumitra is the fourth and last Saryu class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed by Goa Shipyard Limited. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.
A very warm welcome was given to all the Sydney siders offering them a huge variety of food from chat, dinner and dessert. Music, band, songs and performances by the artists of academy entertained attendees. Kalakshetra artists performed beautiful dances and songs as a part of ongoing ‘Festival of India’ celebrations.
High Commissioner Navdeep Suri also announced about his posting to Abu Dhabi, comparatively a smaller in size but an important place for India. He said that the ship has been deployed for multiple operational tasks, the most notable being ‘Operation Rahat’, which entailed the evacuation of personnel of various nationalities from war-torn Yemen in 2015. The ship has a range of 6,500 nautical miles and is capable of embarking one Dhruv/ Chetak helicopter. The ship is commanded by Cdr KP Shreeshan.
Sydney’s who’s who were present there and the visit will stay refreshed everyone like a fresh breeze. The visit was aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and maritime security cooperation.The ship was open to visitors. INS Sumitra, with a crew of 150 people, is on a voyage of many countries and has been to Fiji and Indonesia and now heading towards New Zealand.
-Rekha Rajvanshi
Online Source: The Indian Telegraph.
