Last Friday, the Indian Navy Ship INS Sahyadri, carrying around 400 officers and crew members on board, docked at Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port, beginning a 5-day visit to the city. 

The visit is part of the Indian Navy’s operational deployment to the East Sea and the Pacific Northwest, and it aims to strengthen the bilateral cooperative ties between the navies of the 2 countries.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman, Mr Phung Tan Viet, warmly received a group of the ship’s naval officers, led by the ship’s Commanding Officer Colonel Kunal Singh Rajkumar.

Col Rajkumar (left) and Vice Chairman Viet (Source: cadn.com.vn)

Col Rajkumar thanked the city leader for his warm welcome and said he hoped that the cooperative relations with the naval forces of Da Nang, and Viet Nam as a whole, would be further deepened in the years ahead.

In reply, Vice Chairman Viet said he would like the Indian and Vietnamese navies to jointly take part in many naval exchange activities, especially search and rescue work at sea.

During their 5-day stay in the city, the Indian guests are also scheduled to pay courtesy visits to leaders of the High Commands of Military Zone 5 and Naval Zone 3.  In addition, they will play a friendly volleyball match against their colleagues from the Zone 3 Naval High Command.

The Indian Navy Ship INS Sahyadri

A professional exchange session and a search and rescue practice between the Zone 3 Naval High Command and Indian ship’s naval officers will be held.

INS Sahyadri is an indigenously-built Shivalik Class multi-role stealth frigate.  Inducted into the Indian Navy in 2012, the 142.5m-long and 16.9m-wide ship has a full load of over 6,000 tons, and it can travel at 32 nautical miles per hour (59 kph).

As shown on the website of the Indian Navy, the ship is armed with long-range anti-ship missiles, and medium- and short-range surface to air missiles augmented by powerful guns of different calibers.  The capability to carry 2 integral multi-role helicopters significantly enhances its potency.