Thursday, December 1 2005 16:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Indian Navy has signed MoUs with 11 ports in the Indian Ocean region for operational turnaround facilities so as to support its policy of long-range deployment of the naval fleet.

This was disclosed by Naval-Office-in-Charge (West Bengal) Commodore A K Patnaik during a press conference on the occasion of the annual Navy Week starting from today (Dec 1, 2005).

"In order to increase its visibility, the Navy has decided to go for long-range deployment of fleet," he said.

"For operational turnaround facilities, MOUs have been signed with 11 ports in the Indian Ocean area. As it is difficult for vessels deployed far off to return all the time to its headquarters for servicing, that will be done in those ports," Patnaik said.

He said that as part of its strategy to enhance ties with its counterparts in other countries, the Navy, for the past few years, have been organising 'Milan', an annual event comprising minor joint exercises and cultural functions with the navies of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

With the Bay of Bengal area becoming more 'active', and an increase in the Navy's responsibility to prevent poaching and drug-running around the Andaman and Nicobar islands, additional deployment has been made in the Eastern Naval Command headquarters at Vishakhapatnam.

"We are raising the force level in the ships," he said.