Indian Navy officers (L) along with their Mozambican and Tanzanian counterparts on board INS Tir during IMT Trilat. (India Sentinels photo via special arrangement.)
New Delhi: The second edition of the India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise (IMT TRILAT) began on Thursday in the western Indian Ocean. The exercise will continue until March 29.
This trilateral maritime exercise marks yet another step towards regional cooperation between India, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The inaugural edition of IMT Trilat exercise took place in October 2022, which marked a growing strategic partnership between the three nations.
This year’s iteration will witness the participation of Indian Navy warships INS Tir – an indigenously built training ship, which was in Mauritius recently, and INS Sujata – a Sukanya-class patrol vessel. These two warships will engage with their Mozambican and Tanzanian counterparts in both port visits and at-sea manoeuvres.
This year’s exercise will have two phases – harbour phase and sea phase.
The harbour phase started on Thursday and will continue until March 24. This phase will witness joint training drills and activities in Indian ships that are docked at Maputo in Mozambique and Zanzibar in Tanzania.
The activities include damage control, firefighting, “visit board search and seizure” (VBSS) procedures, medical lectures, casualty evacuation, and diving operations by naval personnel from the three countries.
Additionally, the Indian Navy will offer training to officer trainees from Mozambique and Tanzania.
The sea phase will start from March 24. Here, the focus will shift to coordinated manoeuvres, honing interoperability between the participating forces.
The drills planned during this phase include formation sailing, simulated anti-piracy operations, and search-and-rescue simulations.
The culmination of IMT Trilat will see a joint debriefing session in Nacala, Mozambique, allowing all parties to share insights and refine future collaborations.
This year’s edition underscores New Delhi’s commitment to the “Security and Growth for All in the Region” (SAGAR) vision, fostering maritime security and cooperation between nations in the Indian Ocean Region. The joint exercise is expected to enhance the participating navies’ capabilities in tackling shared maritime threats like piracy, terrorism, and illegal resource exploitation.
Analysts suggest this exercise signifies a broader trend of India actively engaging with East African nations to ensure a stable and secure Indian Ocean. The success of IMT Trilat could pave the way for further collaboration and contribute to a more robust maritime security architecture in the region.
