“It’s the first time that I’m going on board a sail ship of this size and it’s going to be exciting,” Australian midshipman Alexander Him told The Hindu on the south jetty of the Naval Base here on Wednesday, as Indian tall ships Tarangini and Sudarshini were set to sail alongside Omani royal yacht Zinat-Al-Bihaar in a ‘tall ship sail-together’ as part of the 10th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).
“I’m sailing with Indian sea trainees. You make friends on such voyages and that’s going to last forever,” he said, looking at Maldivian Lieutenant Adam Hashim and Chinese Lt Wang Xioayu standing beside. Indian ships have embarked six naval personnel from IONS member nations on the voyage, which will retrace the ancient monsoon trade route between the Malabar coast and the Persian Gulf. The vessels are expected to reach Muscat on November 29 and back in Kochi in mid-December.
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the UK are also represented on board the Indian vessels on the sailing expedition. Commander Rahul Mehta, commanding officer of Tarangini, which has only recently returned from an around the world voyage, said the voyage sought to spread the message of friendship across the seas. “A total of 15 Indian sea trainees are also on board Tarangini, which has already logged 260 days at sea this year,” he said.
The sail-together was flagged off by Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba along with Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, who is currently chairing IONS. He recalled the maritime ties India had with other civilisations and said the the Indian Ocean, known as the ocean of future, was a catalyst for global growth and development.
And the role of the Navies was to ensure that there existed a conducive climate for growth.
Besides the tall ships, Indian sailing vessels Mhadei and Tarini, which had done circum-navigations, also sailed out, heading to the Seychelles on Wednesday.
A fly-past by nine helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft was undertaken to mark the occasion.
The decadal special edition of IONS, attended by 26 countries, drew to a close on Wednesday.
