ICG to conduct 11th National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise and Workshop in Kochi
New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will participate in a two-day 11th National Maritime Search and Rescue exercise and workshop in Kochi, Kerala, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday. The workshop will take place from November 28 to 29. Rajesh Kumar Singh, the defense secretary, will open the event.
The National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority, together with ICG Director General S Paramesh, will also be present at the occasion. The event’s theme, “Enhancing Search and Rescue capabilities through regional collaboration,” will highlight the ICG’s dedication to serving in the Indian Search and Rescue area amid “large-scale contingencies.”
“The event’s first day will include a number of activities, such as tabletop exercises, workshops, and seminars in which senior officials from government agencies, ministries, and the armed forces, as well as other stakeholders and foreign delegates, will participate.” According to the Ministry of Defense’s press release, “The ships and aircraft of the ICG, Navy, Indian Air Force, Passenger Vessel & Tug from Cochin Port Authority, and boats from the Customs will participate in the sea exercise involving two large-scale contingencies off the Kochi coast on the second day.”
The letter states that the first contingency would replicate a crisis scenario on a passenger ship with 500 people on board. In the second scenario, 200 passenger civil aircraft would be ditched. We’ll illustrate this using “new-age technology.”
“The sea exercise’s response matrix will include a variety of techniques for rescuing passengers in distress, including the demonstration of cutting-edge technology such as satellite-assisted distress beacons, drones for life buoy deployment, airdroppable life rafts, and remote-controlled life buoy operation. The memo said, “The exercise is intended to appropriately focus on cooperative engagements with the littorals and friendly countries, in addition to assessing operational efficiency and coordination with national stakeholders.”
The ICG has been working to create a Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) framework that is reliable and efficient. The statement went on to say that ICG is the implementing agency for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed with the member governments of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to coordinate SAR in the Indian Ocean Region.
“ICG has been proposed as the Indo-Pacific region’s nodal agency for SAR operations. In line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), ICG’s heightened emphasis on marine safety would significantly improve India’s global responsibilities, the statement said.
