In a demonstration of India’s commitment to its ties with South Africa and to the maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, Indian Naval Ships Kolkata, Trikand and Aditya under the Command of the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Rear Admiral Ravneet Singh, NM have arrived at Durban on September 20, 2016 for a three day visit. The ships are part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command and are on a two month long deployment to the Western Indian Ocean. INS Kolkata is commanded by Captain Rahul Vilas Gokhale, INS Trikand is commanded by Captain Arjun Dev Nair and INS Aditya is commanded by Captain Vidyanshu Srivastava.

During the visit, the warships will have professional interactions with the South African Naval Forces (SAN) for enhancing co-operation and sharing the nuances of naval operations including combating maritime threats of terrorism and piracy. Calls on senior Government and military authorities, training and technical cooperation measures with SAN, sporting and cultural interactions, aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two forces, are also planned.