Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Navy treats citizens to a gala day-at-sea

- Photo: K. R. Deepak

On a mission: Warships in a row at the day-at-sea programme conducted by the Eastern Naval Command as part of the Navy Week celebrations in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The day dawned bright and cloudless, a perfect day for sailing as the majestic INS Jalashwa set out on the placid blue waters with 75-odd media persons along with 650-plus enthusiastic school students and 15 senior citizens who experienced some rare moments onboard.

The day-at-sea programme conducted by the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) as part of the Navy Week celebrations saw some exciting naval exercises on the sea, off Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Participating in the grand showcasing were five ships of the ENC – INS Jalashwa, INS Rajput, a Kashin Class Destroyer, INS Karmuk and INS Khanjar, missile corvettes – INS Nirbhik, a missile boat and a submarine.

INS Jalashwa, procured from the US and commissioned earlier this year is the second largest ship of the Indian Navy.

As the ship sailed into the middle of the sea, the action was on, turning the place into a war zone of sorts for a brief spell.

Breaking the solemn silence of the seamless stretches of the Bay of Bengal, the Chetak helicopter zoomed past demonstrating ‘search and rescue’ operation.

This operation was extensively used to save the victims during tsunami.

The children were an excited lot as they huddled together to watch these breathtaking feats.

Then came the high-speed manoeuvres by corvettes. INS Nirbhik with its formidable weapon load went past at a terrific speed.

Next, the Naval personnel displayed their prowess with weapons by firing a light machine gun to target an illumination motor bomb.

The bomb went on course as a target and was shot with a real loud, satisfying bang. The crowd was overwhelmed, to put it mildly.

More action followed as Naval personnel demonstrated ‘jackstay’ operation, an exercise to shift men and material from one ship to another with the help of a rope.

The roll and pitch of the ships left a few queasy while the more cheerful lot captured the fascinating moments unfolding before them with amazement.

As the INS Jalashwa floated majestically and unhurriedly on the sea, people onboard returned with some of the most memorable Kodak moments of life – the drunkenly bobbing fishing boats on the glistening waters of the sea and the grand view of the cityscape from the middle of the serene expanse of Bay of Bengal.

Earlier, onboard INS Jalashwa, Rear Admiral R.K. Dhowan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, gave away prizes to the winners of the painting contest conducted by the ENC who were invited for the day-at-sea programme.

Addressing the mediapersons, he said that the exercise was aimed to provide a glimpse of the multi-dimensional role of the Indian Navy in safeguarding maritime interests in times of both, war and peace, and also rendering disaster relief measures in times of crisis.

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