INS Sunayna, designated as Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR ship, entered the Port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania on April 12, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The ship had sailed from Karnataka’s Karwar on April 5 with 44 naval personnel from nine Friendly Foreign Nations (FFNs) of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as part of the ship’s crew. The FFN includes Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

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The IOS SAGAR was accorded a warm welcome by RAdm AR Hassan, Chief of Tanzania Navy, RAdm Nirbhay Bapna, ACNS (FCI) and Commodore Agyapal Singh, Defence Attaché for Tanzania, alongside dignitaries from the Indian High Commission and Tanzania People Defence Force.

During this port call, the ship will also participate in the harbour phase of Exercise ‘AIKEYME’, a key naval exercise which will be inaugurated by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth on Sunday, as per the Defence Ministry.

“The exercise will focus on enhancing operational coordination, refining joint strategies and improving interoperability in maritime operations. Two of the Indian Navy ships, INS Chennai (Destroyer) and INS Kesari [Landing Ship Tank (Large)], will also be participating in the exercise alongside INS Sunayna,” it said.

The Defence Ministry said the participation of personnel from FFNs onboard INS Sunayna further underscores the significance of this initiative in promoting global maritime cooperation.

Through such exercises and engagements, the Indian Navy remains committed to advancing collective maritime security, fostering goodwill and ensuring the free and safe movement of shipping lanes in the region, it said.

The ship will depart Dar-es-Salaam on April 15 for next port of call, Nacala, Mozambique to continue with the IOS SAGAR mission, it added.