Indian naval ships Tir and Sujata, alongwith Indian Coast Guard ship Varuna, comprising the First Training Squadron, entered Port Victoria, Seychelles, on October 1, 2015, as part of their Overseas Deployment during Autumn Term 2015. The ships shall remain in harbour till October 4 and shall enter again on October 9, 2015, for a couple of days.

The First Training Squadron forms part of Southern Naval Command (SNC) and comprises Indian naval ships Tir, Sujata, Shardul, ICGS Varuna and two sail training ships Sudarshini and Tarangini, all of which have been built in India. The primary aim of the First Training Squadron is to impart sea training to naval and coast Guard trainees (within a time period of 24 weeks). All the personnel are trained in seamanship, navigation, ship handling, boat work, technical aspects, etc. whilst being exposed to the rigours of life at sea, so as to earn their ‘sea legs’

SNC provides both basic and advanced training to officers and sailors of the Indian Navy. Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, is presently the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command. The Indian Navy has also been providing training to personnel from friendly foreign countries for more than four decades, under which 13,000 personnel from over 40 countries have been trained. The Indian Navy’s focused approach for providing high quality training by constantly adapting to evolving tactics and technologies has gained it a reputation of being one of the finest training destinations.