Vice Admiral Soni today embarked on board INS Sumitra flagged off Tall Ships 'Sail in Company' this morning off close to Rishikonda Beach, off the coast of Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal.
In all, 54 ships participated in IFR-16 in the first ever Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with combined participation of 20 foreign warships from 17 nations this morning.
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Visiting foreign ships are generally escorted to the open seas on their way home by maritime tradition.
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PASSEX has been aimed towards increasing interoperability among participating foreign navies and
providing the requisite operational element to IFR.
Ships sailed out in two groups of 27 ships each, with the first group under the command of Rear
Admiral Ravneet Singh NM, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, embarked onboard aircraft carrier INS
Vikramaditya and the second group under the command of Rear Admiral SV Bhokare YSM NM, Flag Officer
Commanding Eastern Fleet embarked onboard the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
The activities during PASSEX included formation manoeuvers, cross deck landing of aircraft, Aerial
photography and steam past.
On completion of the PASSEX, the foreign ships shaped course for their next destination with a promise to meet up again.
Meanwhile, according to an Eastern Naval Command spokesman, the indigenously built sail training ships Tarangini, commanded by Cdr Deepak Subramaniam, Sudarshini by Cdr Vikramaditya Malhan of the First Training Squadron and sailing vessel Mhadei, manned by an all women crew and skippered by Lt.Commodore Vartika Joshi, have set sail together to Chennai in 'Sail in Company' after their spectacular show in the International Fleet Review.
