Bangladesh Warships for first Naval Drills with Indian Navy.

Two ships of the Bangladesh Navy arrived Vishakhapatnam on Saturday (13rd Oct) to take part in a four-day naval exercise. The Bangladesh Navy ships-Ali Haider and BNS Shadinota-reached the Eastern Naval Command of India. Ali Haider is a type 053 frigate while BBNS Shadinota is a type 056 stealth guided missile corvette.

The Bangladeshi flagship BNS Somudra (F29) (Picture source: Wikipedia)

This is the first time that the two navies are taking part in a bilateral naval exercise. The bilateral exercise will include professional interaction between the two navies and visits to the Indian Navy’s training and maintenance facilities at Visakhapatnam.

Prior to their arrival in Visakhapatnam, the two ships of the Bangladesh Navy undertook coordinated patrol (CORPAT) with Indian Navy ships–Ranvijay and Kuthar-from October 10 to October 12.

The second edition of India Navy-Bangladesh Navy CORPAT in North Bay of Bengal increased the scope of joint exercises between the two navies by sharing best practices in flying operations and other seamanship evolutions, including vertical replenishment by integral helicopters of the Indian Navy.

The exercise comes days after Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India where a number of MoUs were signed between the two countries. A joint statement released after a bilateral between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sheikh Hasina said, "Both Prime Ministers welcomed the initiatives for the development of closer Maritime Security Partnership, and appreciated the finalisation of an MoU on Establishment of Coastal Surveillance Radar System in Bangladesh."

With a common territorial boundary of over 4,000 kilometres and a maritime boundary, the navies of both the countries aim to practice and hone their mutual cooperation whilst patrolling near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) during the current edition of CORPAT.