Indian, Sri Lankan navies conclude bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX
Mar 11, 2022
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 11 : The ninth edition of India-Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime Exercise SLINEX (Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise) held at the Naval Dockyard of Vishakhapatnam and in the Bay of Bengal concluded on Thursday.
The Bilateral Maritime Exercise was held at Visakhapatnam from March 7 to March 10.
"India-SriLanka bilateral #MaritimeExercise SLINEX off #Visakhapatnam. The scope & complexity of the exercise is indicative of high degree of trust, cooperation & #interoperability between #IndianNavy & @srilanka_navy," Indian Navy tweeted.
In an official release, Sri Lankan Navy said that representing the Sri Lanka Navy, SLNS Sayurala took part in the bilateral naval exercise.
"The 09th edition of 'SLINEX' comprised two phases, as Harbour Phase and Sea Phase. The Indian Navy was represented by the Corvette INS Kirch, Fleet Support Tanker INS Jyoti, several helicopters and a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft," said the Sri Lankan Navy release.
SLINEX focused on enhancing inter-operability, improving mutual understanding and exchanging best practices and procedures for maritime cooperation between both navies, according to the release.
The release said that the Harbour Phase of the exercise was held at the Naval Dockyard of Visakhapatnam on March 7-8. Meanwhile, cultural, professional, social, and sporting exchanges took place under the Harbour Phase.
The Sea Phase of SLINEX was conducted on 09th and 10th March in the Bay of Bengal, where surface and anti-air weapon firing, aviation operations including cross deck flying, advanced tactical manoeuvres, replenishment at sea (RAS) and Special Forces operations including Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) exercises were demonstrated, the release said.
The 09th edition of SLINEX was a great opportunity for both navies to enhance mutual understanding in bilateral naval operations and exchange best practices and procedures. Besides, such engagements will greatly assist when overcoming common maritime security challenges in the region, the release added.
