The Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) recently conducted a bilateral maritime exercise Naseem-al-Bahr in the Arabian Sea from January 22-27, 2016, off Goa. Naseem Al Bahr epitomises the strong long-term strategic relationship between the two countries initiated in 1993. The exercise has matured over the years with increasing scope, complexity of operations and level of participation. The current exercise was the tenth such exercise.

The primary aim of this exercise was to increase interoperability amongst the two navies and develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations.

During the exercise, the Indian Navy was represented by INS Trikand and INS Trishul. In addition, fast attack craft, maritime patrol aircraft and integral helicopters also participated in the bilateral exercise. The Omani Navy was represented by RNOV Al Shamikh, a corvette and RNOV Al Seeb, a fast attack craft. The RNO ships arrived in the morning on January 22 and are also scheduled to participate in the International Fleet Review 2016 being held at Visakhapatnam.

The exercise progressed in two phases— the Harbour Phase at Goa and the Sea Phase off Goa. The Harbour Phase included a variety of professional interactions, courtesy calls, social and sporting interactions and planning conference. During the Sea Phase, various facets of fleet operations including navigation and seamanship evolutions, surface firing, force protection and anti-piracy exercises as well as flying operations were conducted. The exercise is aimed at deriving mutual benefit from each other’s experiences and sharing best practices. The interoperability achieved over the years as a result of such exercises has proved to be operationally beneficial to both. The exercise was another milestone in strengthening maritime security cooperation between the two navies.