Overview

• Both ships departed Jeddah on August 30 after a Passage Exercise with RSNF corvette HMS Jazan and resumed their deployment.
• Commanding officers met RSNF Western Fleet Commander RAdm Mansour Bin Saud Al-Juaid and Saudi Border Guard commander Maj Gen Fahad Bin Majid Al-Duajani to discuss non-traditional maritime threats.
• The two sides recognized the need for joint operations plus extensive information-sharing to address Red Sea and Indian Ocean challenges.
• Crew interactions included sports fixtures and personnel exchanges, and the ships hosted India’s ambassador Dr Suhel Ajaz Khan on August 28.
• INS Tamal, recently commissioned in Russia, is transiting to India after engagements in Greece’s Souda Bay with Hellenic, NATO and Italian counterparts, including a cross-deck visit on ITS Trieste.