Chennai: TN and Puducherry coasts buzzed with action as as the Indian Navy and security agencies turned the area into a simulated warzone for the fourth edition of the coastal defence exercise sea vigil 2024 on Nov 20 and 21.
Over two action-packed days, the Indian navy neutralised several simulated terrorist threats. One such scenario was a dramatic hostage situation aboard MV Fairway off Chennai Port, where elite MARCOS commandos were airlifted from Visakhapatnam to rescue crew members from mock terrorists.
In another drill, security forces foiled an attack on the sensitive Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam. The TN commando force and national security guard worked in tandem to rescue hostages.
The exercise also involved the interception of suspicious fishing trawlers in the Palk Bay region and prevention of an attempted infiltration at Muyal Island.
A plot to mine vessels at Chennai Harbour was thwarted by vigilant TN police before the mock attackers could reach their targets. "The exercise demonstrated remarkable inter-agency coordination and rapid response capabilities," said a senior naval officer.
The subsidiary joint operations centre at HQTNP (TN and Puducherry naval area), manned round-the-clock by personnel from seven agencies, served as the nerve centre.
With 11 naval surface units and various air assets deployed, Sea Vigil 2024 not only tested existing security protocols but also validated new standard operating procedures for handling intrusions by terrorists.