A three-day coastal security exercise 'Sagar Kavach' was conducted off the coast of Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands to assess the preparedness of all agencies towards dealing with an asymmetric threat emanating from the sea.
The Headquarters Coast Guard District No 4 (Kerala) and the Headquarters Coast Guard District No 12 (Lakshadweep & Minicoy) conducted the exercise from April 24 to 26.
The exercise is aimed at enhancing synergy between various stake-holders through sharing of information and resources of various agencies involved in the field of coastal security.
It helped in validating the standard operating procedures to strengthen the coastal security mechanism, a Defence release said here today.
Four ships and three Fast Interceptor Craft (FICs) of Indian Navy, five ships of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and also Dornier aircraft were deployed off Kerala and L&M coast.
Boats and personnel from Coastal Police, Marine Enforcement Wing (MEW), Central Industrial Security Force, Customs, Fisheries department and Port authorities also actively participated in the exercise, the release said.