#Indian #Navy #Warship
Background info on Operation Sankalp
'OP Sankalp' (the Word संकल्प/Sankalp means commitment/resolve/determination) commenced in Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in Jun 19, aimed at protecting Indian Flag Merchant Vessels and ensuring their safe passage in the Gulf region and through the Strait of Hormuz.
The trigger for the deployment was a security incident involving explosion onboard two oil tankers viz MV Front Altair and MV Kokuka Courageous in Gulf of Oman on 13 Jun 19, in wake of increased tensions between Iran and US. The attacks in the Gulf region highlighted vulnerability of sea borne trade transiting within constricted geographical locations.
India is dependent for about 85% of its demand for oil on imports. In the financial year 2019-2020, around 62 per cent of India’s oil imports valued at approximately 66 Billion USD came from this area. For the same year, India’s exports and imports from the region stood at around 51 Billion USD and 108.2 Billion USD, respectively. These constitute 8.1 per cent and 11.4 per cent of India’s total exports and imports, respectively. Despite diversification of sources for import of oil, Gulf countries are likely to continue as major suppliers of oil for India. Due to the prevailing security situation in Persian Gulf, it is required to provide security to Indian Flagged Merchant Vessels transiting through the region by showing presence, escorting or providing close support to vessels as required. Further, about 8.5 million out of 34 million people of Indian diaspora worldwide reside in Gulf countries.
Based on the imperatives above, Indian Navy had commenced Maritime Security Operations, code named Op SANKALP, in June 2019. Since then, an Indian Navy ship with an integral helo embarked has been continuously deployed in the North West Arabian Sea (off R’as al Hadd), Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf from Jun 19, to show presence, instil confidence in Indian maritime community and provide assistance to Indian Flagged Merchant Vessels.
*23 warships have been deployed till date for this operations and on an average 16 Indian Flagged Merchant Vessels are being provided safe passage each day in the region*. During this operations, Indian Navy Armed Security Teams (IN-AST) are being embarked onboard Indian Flagged Merchant Vessels transiting the area, based on their request.
