INS Saryu, an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV) based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, shall be participating in a week-long ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) Disaster Relief Exercise (DiREx) 2015.
The aim of ARF DiREx is to exercise information sharing and networking among national agencies of this region towards providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) during natural calamities like Earthquakes, Tsunami, and so forth as well as Search and Rescue (SAR) for ships and aircraft lost in the sea.
Disaster management continues to be a vital area for cooperation in the region. A consensus has thus emerged on the need to better mitigate, manage and respond to natural and man-made disasters due to the constant dialogue within ARF.
This exercise, being conducted in Penang, Northern Malaysia from May 24-28 this year would have participation from China, Malaysia, Thailand and India. Co-hosted by Malaysia and China, DiREx 2015 would include Field Training Exercises like Collapsed Structure, Mass Evacuation, Chemical Leakage (HAZMAT), Road Traffic Accident, After Action Review and Search and Rescue Operations. The marine component of the exercise would include Search and Rescue operations using a simulated maritime incident, and would include helicopter operations to locate survivors as well as diving operations to evacuate trapped personnel.
This is the third edition of DiREx with the previous two which were held in Philippines (2009) and in Indonesia (2011).
Air Marshal P K Roy, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command, had commissioned INS Saryu into the Indian Navy at Goa on January 21, 2013. Designed and built by Goa Shipyard Limited, the ship aptly demonstrates the immense potential of the country's indigenous designing and ship building capabilities.
