DUBAI // Three Indian naval ships have been in the UAE to train cadets in seamanship and navigation, and for joint exercises.
About 136 aspiring naval officers were aboard the INS Tir, Sujata and Tarangini that docked in Dubai's Port Rashid this week.
"This is their first exposure to sea," said Capt V K Sawhney, senior officer of the first training squadron and commanding officer of INS Tir.
“We train them on seamanship, navigation and electrical engineering, and help them get acquainted to life at sea. It helps them get their sea legs and sets their foundation for a naval career.
“Part of our training is to visit all the ports in India and proceed for one overseas deployment to a friendly foreign country.”
After graduating from the naval academy, the cadets have 24 weeks of rigorous training at sea. Theory classes are also held on-board.
Trainees spend two weeks learning to manoeuvre the INS Tarangini, the Indian navy's first sail training ship.
“The officers learn the basics in seamanship, ship handling and learn to understand the winds,” Capt Sawhney said.
“Plus it takes a lot of courage and stamina to climb up their masts, especially in rough weather. It’s all about teamwork.
“They also learn to navigate in the Arabian Gulf in the heavy traffic. It’s a new experience.”
The ships conducted joint exercises with the UAE navy yesterday before departing for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“It was not an advanced-level exercise but a few hours on basic man-oeuvres and communication drills,” Capt Sawhney said.
“It’s a very good opportunity for us to operate with other navies. It helps us learn a lot and I’m sure it helps the other navies as well. It’s excellent exposure for our officers.”
Naval cadets agreed that meeting other naval officers was helpful.
“Monday’s visit to their Naval Institute was to show how the UAE Navy trains its forces,” said Siddarth Singh, a trainee.
“They learn on simulators,” said Joel Nazareth, another trainee. “Like us, they also train on ships but on a smaller scale.”
During their four days in the UAE, officers also visited Abu Dhabi Ship Building.
Discussions were also held with the UAE Navy chief, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Al Musharrakh.
Although this is not the first UAE visit for the Indian ships, it is the first time they have come two years in a row.
Last August, three warships and a tanker were in Port Rashid for a month-long deployment in the Arabian Gulf and took part alongside five UAE Navy ships in day-long exercises.
UAE officers also undergo training in Indian naval academies in logistics management, anti-submarine warfare, and hydrographic surveys that focus on charting harbour depth, calculating the draft of ships and cargo that can pass through.
Fourteen UAE officers have trained in India and four are now in the Southern Naval Command, in Kochi.
There are also proposals to bring Indian officers to train in the UAE.
“The plan is in the pipeline,” said Group Capt K Premkumar, the defence adviser at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. “They have to be Arabic trained.
“We are working towards it because their Arabic has to be really good for them to understand technical terms. Both Indian and UAE ministries are very keen for it to happen.”
Capt Premkumar is the first defence adviser in the UAE to be appointed by the Indian government to boost relations further between the Indian and UAE armies, navies and air forces.
“It’s given the necessary fillip for improving bilateral relationship across all three forces.
“We are now looking at training across army and air force and further improvement in the navy.”
A biennial India-UAE Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting will be held in the UAE next year.
“This is our regular navy-to-navy staff talks, which drives what the navies want,” Capt Premkumar said.
“We had one last year in Delhi and will have the next year in the UAE. The agenda is still being drawn up.”
pkannan@thenational.ae
