Two-day coastal defence exercise to prepare agencies for maritime threats

Panaji: The two-day coastal defence exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ is being conducted from Tuesday, with maritime authorities in Goa participating in the pan-India exercise. The Indian Navy along with the Indian Coast Guard, Goa marine police, Intelligence Bureau and customs will test inter-agency cooperation as part of the coastal security apparatus.
Sea Vigil is a build up towards the major theatre-level readiness operational exercise (TROPEX), which the Indian Navy conducts every two years. Sea Vigil and TROPEX together will cover the entire spectrum of maritime threats.
Goa Naval Area headquarters is conducting the security exercise in Goa for which a joint coastal security meeting and briefing was held on November 10.
“The exercise will be undertaken along the entire 7,516km coastline and exclusive economic zone and will involve all the coastal states and Union territories along with other maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities. The exercise is being conducted by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and other ministries entrusted with the task of maritime activities,” said the Indian Navy in a statement.
The national-level Sea Vigil exercise was conceptualised in 2018 to validate various measures that have been instituted towards enhancing maritime security since the 26/11 terror attack, with this being the third edition of the exercise.
Senior officials at the Goa Naval Area HQ said that several initiatives have been taken to strengthen coastal security and achieve seamless integration between all agencies. These security measures and operating procedures will be reviewed and tested during the exercise.
“Exercise Sea Vigil-22 will provide a realistic assessment of our strengths and weaknesses and thus will help in further strengthening Maritime and National Security,” said the Indian Navy.