Indian warship INS Satpura, as part of the most extended deployment by the Indian Navy in the 75th year of independence, concluded its Fiji visit on Saturday.
The warship's visit aimed at strengthening the friendship and cooperation between India and Fiji, according to the statement released by the Indian Navy.
During the port call, there were high-level exchanges between the ship's crew and the Fiji Navy. The crew led by her Commanding Officer also paid homage to martyred soldiers at Fiji's National War Memorial.
Notably, INS Satpura visited Suva, Fiji on September 1, as part of its Operational Deployment in the Pacific Ocean.
"As part of the community outreach programme, planting of a thousand mangrove saplings was undertaken by the ship's crew in coordination with Fiji's forestry department. A medical camp was also conducted by the ship's medical team at Albert Stadium, which saw large participation from the local populace," the statement reads
According to the statement, the ship was open to visitors during which many locals visited the ship furthering the people-to-people connection between the two nations. Further, a special Yoga session was conducted on the ship's Helo deck for personnel from Fiji Navy and local citizens.Built at Mazagaon Docks Ltd, Mumbai, and commissioned on 20 August 2011, INS Satpura derives her name from the majestic Satpura mountain range in central India. A frontline warship of the Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam, INS Satpura is currently on one of the longest deployments by the Indian Navy in the 75th year of India's Independence.
INS Satpura is an indigenously designed and built, 6,000-tonne guided missile stealth frigate equipped to seek and destroy adversaries in air, surface and underwater. The ship is a frontline unit of the Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam. INS Satpura was tasked with a long-range operational deployment in the 75th year of India's independence.
Earlier, INS Satpura and P8I LRMRASW aircraft took part in one of the largest multilateral naval exercises, the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.
For the multilateral naval exercise, the Indian warship reached Hawaii on June 27, 2022, whereas the P8I aircraft arrived on July 2, 2022. The harbour phase of the exercise saw participation in multiple symposiums exercise planning discussions and sports competitions.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor