
Navies of India, Singapore conclude SIMBEX
This year's exercise comprised a shore phase held at RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base, followed by a sea phase held in the southern reaches of the South China Sea. The sea phase involved ships from both navies and aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the Defence Ministry here said.
The RSN deployed a Formidable-class frigate, RSS Supreme, and a Victory-class missile corvette, RSS Vigilance, supported by MV Mentor. The Indian Navy participated with a Shivalik-class frigate, INS Satpura. An S70B naval helicopter, two Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft and two F-15SG fighter aircraft from the RSAF also participated in the exercise.
During the shore phase, both navies participated in joint planning, simulator training, professional exchanges and sports. At the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, both navies shared best practices related to Maritime Air Operations and Compliant Boarding Procedures.
At sea, the participating forces conducted complex warfare serials, including gunnery firing, air-defence exercises and maritime security drills. The sea phase concluded with a sail-past of the participating ships.
The successful conduct of SIMBEX 2025 underscores the enduring partnership between the Indian Navy and the RSN.
Commanding Officer of RSS Supreme Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Koh said, "SIMBEX is a testament to the long-standing bilateral ties between the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy. Over the years, the exercise has served as a valuable platform for generations of sailors to hone operational competencies, enhance mutual understanding and build enduring people-to-people ties."
First held in 1994, SIMBEX marks the 32nd edition of the exercise, making it one of the RSN's longest-running bilateral maritime exercises and the longest continuous bilateral naval exercise that India has had with any other country.
This iteration of SIMBEX takes place at a significant time as both countries commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Over the years, the complexity of SIMBEX has expanded to incorporate elements of maritime security and exercise serials in the air, surface and sub-surface domains. Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through a range of activities, including professional exchanges, staff talks and training courses.
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Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
In Maharashtra port, ship waits to be sunk, start new life as artificial reef
AT THE Vijaydurg port, a natural harbour in Maharashtra's coastal Sindhudurg district, an 81-metre-long piece of naval history lies still against the blue of the Arabian Sea, awaiting its second innings. INS Guldar, a decommissioned Navy warship, will soon be deliberately sunk — or 'scuttled' — to breathe new life into its metal bones, transforming it into an artificial reef and an underwater tourist attraction. Though scuttled ships have been used to create artificial reefs elsewhere in the world, this is the first such attempt in India. 'The idea behind this project is to develop tourism in Sindhudurg. When the ship is submerged, it will gradually form an underwater reef that attracts various kinds of fish. Once that happens, people from all over the world, especially avid scuba divers, will come to the district,' says an official of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporat-ion (MTDC) who is associated with the project. Home to MTDC's Indian Institute of Scuba Diving and Aquatic Sports (IISDA), Sindhudurg, 120 km from Goa, has been a training centre for scuba diving enthusiasts for over a decade. Had all gone according to plan, INS Guldar would have been scuttled in April. Officials said its scuttling was postponed in view of tensions between India and Pakistan after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. An official at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, the government-run firm responsible for the scuttling, said the process was delayed further due to the early arrival of monsoon in Maharashtra. 'Too much wind or rough seas can topple the ship, which means it won't go down as planned. We are waiting for a lull in the monsoon (to carry out the scuttling),' the official adds. The ageing INS Guldar, a Kumbhir-class landing ship designed for amphibious warfare and capable of beach landings, was once part of India's peacekeeping mission in Sri Lanka, combating attacks from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tamil separatist group, across the beaches of Jaffna and Trincomalee in the island nation. The plan to acquire a ship for scuttling took off in December 2023, when the MTDC hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, then Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and then Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in Sindhudurg on the occasion of Navy Day. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, who was then the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, was also in attendance. The MTDC is learnt to have asked Admiral Tripathi for a decommissioned ship as a 'token of gift' to the state tourism department so that it could be turned into an 'underwater museum and artificial reef' at Sindhudurg. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation hopes to transform INS Guldar into an underwater tourist attraction. Scuttling is usually a wartime tactic involving the deliberate sinking of a vessel — in case of an emergency or to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. On November 26, 2024, the Union Finance Ministry green-lit the project, followed by a nod from the Maharashtra government on December 19, 2024. On February 21, 2025, the Navy handed over INS Guldar to the MTDC on an 'as is where is' basis at Karwar in Karnataka. Built at Poland's Gdynia Shipyard, INS Guldar was commissioned into the Indian Navy nearly four decades ago, in 1985. It was first based in Visakhapatnam, where it was used for amphibious warfare, transferring troops and equipment and for disaster relief operations. In 1995, it joined the Andaman and Nicobar command, where it served until its decommissioning on January 12, 2024, according to a statement by the Navy. The underwater museum-cum-artificial reef project is estimated to cost Rs 78 crore. The Centre will bear nearly 60% of the total cost and the state government the rest, said an MTDC official. According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR) accessed by The Indian Express, the Sindhudurg site will have a carrying capacity of 2,773 divers daily, spread over six diving sessions in an eight-hour operational period. The MTDC expects at least 71,000 tourists to visit the site in the first year, with the figure projected to go up to 1.10 lakh within a decade. Talking about the underwater museum-cum-artificial reef project, an official said every ship has a scuttling plan that the captain follows to deliberately sink the ship – usually 'in case of an emergency or to prevent it from falling into enemy hands'. The process of scuttling, he said, follows the Archimedes principle, which states that the buoyant force keeping an object afloat is equal to the weight of the water the object displaces. Simply put, for a ship to sink, it must be filled with water to achieve negative buoyancy. 'To achieve that, the ship's sea chest (a compartment built into the hull below the waterline) will be opened to flood the engine room. The front section will also be flooded simultaneously in a controlled manner,' the official says, adding that the process will take up to 10 hours. According to the DPR, the ship, which has been stripped of all pollutants that may harm marine life, will be sunk to a depth of nearly 30 metres. Once submerged, INS Guldar, which has a flat bottom, will simply sit on the seabed, around 3 km from existing scuba diving sites near Malvan and Tarkali beaches or around 15 km off the coast of Sindhudurg, near the Vengurla Rocks in the Arabian Sea. The DPR states that non-certified divers who have completed pool training will be allowed to dive down to a depth of 12 metres; certified divers up to 18 metres, which will give them access to the middle parts of the ship; and advanced divers to the deepest part of the ship, including the hull and the seabed. For non-divers, the MTDC plans to acquire a 24-seater submarine, offering tourists a 20-minute panoramic underwater view of the shipwreck. To enhance employment prospects in Sindhudurg, the MTDC plans to train locals in scuba diving, boat handling and as tourist guides. If successful, this could become India's first operational submarine tourism experience. Gujarat had announced a similar project at the Bet Dwarka island in 2023. While the scuba diving plan is expected to take off as soon as the ship is scuttled, experts say it could take a year or more for a reef to 'fully establish and function as essential habitat'. Alex Fogg, Natural Resources Chief of Florida's Okaloosa County in the United States, says that while fish appear 'almost immediately', the formation of an artificial reef is dependent on a number of factors – from the size of the vessel to the depth at which it is sunk, and its proximity to another reef. 'Larger, more complex vessels in shallower waters tend to establish more quickly,' Fogg explains. 'That's not to say smaller or deeper reefs aren't beneficial, they are just a different community.' Okaloosa County deployed its first artificial reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach in 1976. Today, it hosts over 500 artificial reefs created from concrete structures, old bridge materials, military equipment, and decommissioned vessels. Marine biologist Vardhan Patankar too says that while the sunken ship could still make for a good scuba diving site since 'it will attract fish and a variety of associated invertebrates', whether it will be a viable reef with diverse composition is debatable. He says, 'An artificial reef is created when free-flowing larvae from a parent reef find another hard substratum (a layer of something, like rock or soil, below another layer). When that happens, they settle and thrive.' Patankar explains, 'Larvae can stay alive for a day and usually settle where their parents are. So, they are not going to come all the way from Angria Bank (a natural reef over 100 km away from Sindhudurg) to this site. They will most likely come from Sindhudurg, where the species composition is low.' Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More


The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Navies of India, Singapore conclude SIMBEX
The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indian Navy have completed their annual Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) that was held from July 28 to August 1. This year's exercise comprised a shore phase held at RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base, followed by a sea phase held in the southern reaches of the South China Sea. The sea phase involved ships from both navies and aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the Defence Ministry here said. The RSN deployed a Formidable-class frigate, RSS Supreme, and a Victory-class missile corvette, RSS Vigilance, supported by MV Mentor. The Indian Navy participated with a Shivalik-class frigate, INS Satpura. An S70B naval helicopter, two Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft and two F-15SG fighter aircraft from the RSAF also participated in the exercise. During the shore phase, both navies participated in joint planning, simulator training, professional exchanges and sports. At the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, both navies shared best practices related to Maritime Air Operations and Compliant Boarding Procedures. At sea, the participating forces conducted complex warfare serials, including gunnery firing, air-defence exercises and maritime security drills. The sea phase concluded with a sail-past of the participating ships. The successful conduct of SIMBEX 2025 underscores the enduring partnership between the Indian Navy and the RSN. Commanding Officer of RSS Supreme Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Koh said, "SIMBEX is a testament to the long-standing bilateral ties between the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy. Over the years, the exercise has served as a valuable platform for generations of sailors to hone operational competencies, enhance mutual understanding and build enduring people-to-people ties." First held in 1994, SIMBEX marks the 32nd edition of the exercise, making it one of the RSN's longest-running bilateral maritime exercises and the longest continuous bilateral naval exercise that India has had with any other country. This iteration of SIMBEX takes place at a significant time as both countries commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Over the years, the complexity of SIMBEX has expanded to incorporate elements of maritime security and exercise serials in the air, surface and sub-surface domains. Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through a range of activities, including professional exchanges, staff talks and training courses.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Navies of India, Singapore conclude maritime bilateral exercise SIMBEX
The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indian Navy have completed their annual Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) that was held from July 28 to August 1. This year's exercise comprised a shore phase held at RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base, followed by a sea phase held in the southern reaches of the South China Sea. The sea phase involved ships from both navies and aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the Defence Ministry here said. The RSN deployed a Formidable-class frigate, RSS Supreme, and a Victory-class missile corvette, RSS Vigilance, supported by MV Mentor. The Indian Navy participated with a Shivalik-class frigate, INS Satpura. An S70B naval helicopter, two Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft and two F-15SG fighter aircraft from the RSAF also participated in the exercise. During the shore phase, both navies participated in joint planning, simulator training, professional exchanges and sports. At the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, both navies shared best practices related to Maritime Air Operations and Compliant Boarding Procedures. At sea, the participating forces conducted complex warfare serials, including gunnery firing, air-defence exercises and maritime security drills. The sea phase concluded with a sail-past of the participating ships. The successful conduct of SIMBEX 2025 underscores the enduring partnership between the Indian Navy and the RSN. Commanding Officer of RSS Supreme Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Koh said, "SIMBEX is a testament to the long-standing bilateral ties between the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy. Over the years, the exercise has served as a valuable platform for generations of sailors to hone operational competencies, enhance mutual understanding and build enduring people-to-people ties." First held in 1994, SIMBEX marks the 32nd edition of the exercise, making it one of the RSN's longest-running bilateral maritime exercises and the longest continuous bilateral naval exercise that India has had with any other country. This iteration of SIMBEX takes place at a significant time as both countries commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Over the years, the complexity of SIMBEX has expanded to incorporate elements of maritime security and exercise serials in the air, surface and sub-surface domains. Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through a range of activities, including professional exchanges, staff talks and training courses. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)