Visakhapatnam, Feb 3: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar commissioned INS Sandhayak at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

The Defence Minister who arrived in Visakhapatnam to attend the Commissioning Ceremony of INS Sandhayak early morning received a Guard of Honour on his arrival.

Addressing the commissioning ceremony, the Defence Minister highlighted the power and prowess of the Indian Navy in terms of security and trade.

"If I talk about our naval power, the Indian Navy has become so strong that we have become the first responder in terms of security in the Indian Ocean and Indian Pacific region. If we talk about global trade, the Indian Ocean is anyway counted as a hotspot," Rajnath Singh said.

"Many choke points like the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea etc. are in the Indian Ocean, through which a large amount of international trade takes place. Many threats remain at these choke points, but the biggest threat that remains is that of pirates," Singh added.

The Defence Minister also reiterated India's intolerance for maritime piracy and smuggling and said, "I will again say that people involved in maritime piracy and smuggling will not be tolerated under any circumstances, this is the pledge of new India."

"We have rescued 80 fishermen recently, this is the intention and power of our Indian Navy. The aim of our growing power is to stop illegal and unregulated fishing in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region. The growing power of the Indian Navy is also stopping narcotics and human trafficking in this region," he said.

Meanwhile, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar also addressed the Commissioning Ceremony of INS Sandhayak at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam and said that the Navy is dedicated to carefully crafting a balanced 'Atmanirbhar Force' in service of an ascended Bharat."

The Navy Chief presented a warm welcome to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who arrived in Visakhapatnam to attend the Commissioning Ceremony of INS Sandhayak.

The Naval Chief also highlighted the Indian Navy's prowess in building indigenous warships and submarines over the past years and introduced INS Sandhayak as the 34th addition to the Navy's assets.

The INS Sandhayak is a new version of a previous ship with the same name that served in the Indian Navy from 1981 to 2021.

The new INS Sandhayak is the first of four advanced Survey Vessels. It was launched on December 5, 2021, and delivered to the Indian Navy on December 4, 2023.

(ANI)

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