The two-day exercise was steered by the Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard, state governments, Union Territories and other maritime stakeholders, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
“This edition of exercise Sea Vigil saw the largest participation from all maritime security agencies. More than 500 surface assets from the Indian Navy (IN), Coast Guard (CG), States Marine/ Coastal Police, Customs, Forest Department, Port Authorities and private operators participated in the exercise. The entire coastline was kept under surveillance by the IN and CG ships and aircraft. Helicopters were also pressed into service to reinforce Special Operations personnel operating onboard offshore platforms," the ministry said.
The conceptual and geographical expanse of Sea Vigil included contingencies ranging from Peace to War-time across the entire coastline and EEZ of the country. In addition, mitigation measures, on shore, in case of any breach in Coastal Security mechanism were also validated, it said.
As ports form the nerve centre of sea borne trade, security mechanism of ports was also validated during the exercise and the crisis management plans of all ports were assessed for their effectiveness to tackle emergencies. The State Police teams, Indian Navy Marine Commandos and Commandos from National Security Guard were exercised to tackle acts of maritime terrorism.
