SLINEX - 23 commences in Colombo
April 04, 2023The harbour phase of the Sri Lanka–India Naval Exercise (SLINEX) -23 commenced on Monday (3 Apr) and will go on till Wednesday (Apr 5) at the port of Colombo.
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) media said, two Indian naval ships INS Kiltan, and INS Savitri, had arrived to the island to take part in the joint exercises.
SLNS Samudura and SLNS Vijayabahu of the SLN will join the two Indian vessels, a corvette and an offshore patrol vessel while a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft and Bell 412 helicopter of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) will augment the naval assets.
In addition, a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft and Chetak helicopter of the Indian Navy also joins the maritime exercise scheduled to end on Saturday (Mar 8), it says. The sea phase of SLINEX- 23 is scheduled to be held off Colombo from 6 - 8 (April).
The SLN also said opening ceremony was held on board SLNS Vijayabahu with the presence of Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy Rear Admiral Jayantha Kularatne, yesterday morning.
Naval maneuvers including gunnery exercises (GUNEX), search and rescue exercises (SAREX), screen exercises (SCREENEX), replenishment at sea approaches(RAS), abeam fuelling approaches, visit board search & seizure (VBSS) exercises, photo (PHOTOEX), vertical replenishment (VERTREP) and search and rescue exercises by Helo will be included in this year’s SLINEX SLN sources said.
The SLN has also organized cultural exchange programmes, friendly sports events and Yoga exercises for both Navy personnel and the crew of the Indian ships is also scheduled to visit several major local tourist attractions during the sidelines of the exercise.
Deputy High Commissioner of the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director General Operations Rear Admiral Pradeep Rathnayake, Commander Western Naval Area Rear Admiral Suresh De Silva, Commanding Officers of INS Kiltan and INS Savitri, and senior SLN officers were present at the opening ceremony.
