Coast Guard’s SAREX-24 maritime exercise to start from today

The 11th edition of the Indian Coast Guard’s National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise and Workshop — SAREX-24 — will start in Kochi in Kerala on November 28-29.
According to a statement by the Defence Ministry, SAREX-24 will be inaugurated by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and will be conducted under the aegis of the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board.
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Director General, S Paramesh, who is also the National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority, will be among the dignitaries attending the event, the ministry said in a statement.
The theme of SAREX-24 will be ‘Enhancing Search and Rescue Capabilities through Regional Collaboration’ which signifies ICG’s commitment to provide succour during large-scale contingencies, regardless of location, nationality or circumstances in the Indian search and rescue region and beyond.
On the first day of the event, several programmes will be carried out, including table-top exercise, workshop and seminars involving participation of senior officials from government agencies, ministries and armed forces, various stakeholders and foreign delegates.
On the second day, the sea exercise involving two large-scale contingencies will be carried out off the Kochi coast with the participation of ships and aircraft of the ICG, Navy, Indian Air Force, passenger vessel and tug from Cochin Port Authority and boats from the customs, the statement said.
The first contingency will simulate distress onboard a passenger vessel having 500 passengers, while the second scenario will depict the ditching of civil aircraft with 200 passengers, it added.
“The response matrix in the sea exercise will involve various methods to evacuate distressed passengers, wherein the advent of new-age technology using satellite-aided distress beacons, drones to deploy a lifebuoy, air-droppable life rafts, and operation of remote-controlled lifebuoy will be demonstrated,” the Defence Ministry statement said.
The exercise is designed not only to evaluate the efficiency of operations and coordination with national stakeholders, but also to aptly focus on cooperative engagements with the littorals and friendly countries, it added.
Over the years, the ICG has evolved as a premier maritime agency rightfully steering the government’s efforts towards a stable and effective maritime search and rescue construct, the statement said.
An MoU was signed with Indian Ocean Rim Association member states for coordinating SAR (Search and Rescue) in the Indian Ocean Region and the ICG is the implementing agency.
Further, the ICG has been nominated as a nodal agency for SAR activities in the Indo-Pacific Region. The ICG’s increased focus to the maritime safety aspect will go a long way in strengthening India’s global responsibility in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), the statement said.