As part of Operation Samudra II, INS Shardul, Indian navy ship arrived at Kochi, carrying 80MT of liquid medical Oxygen
Bengaluru: The Indian Navy continues to render yeoman service during the ongoing covid crisis in the country.
In the latest news, INS Shardul, Indian navy ship arrived at Kochi, carrying 80MT of liquid medical Oxygen.
The ship had been deployed as part of Operation Samudra Setu II.
A note on INS Shardul
It is an amphibious ship capable of carrying troops, armoured tanks, vehicles and armament for amphibious operations, INS Shardul is a versatile platform, also capable of undertaking humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. It has actively participated in multiple humanitarian relief operations by the Indian Navy in the recent past.
Relief Operations:
These include transhipment of 600 MT of rice to Antsiranana, Madagascar as humanitarian aid in March 2020 and repatriation of 233 Indian citizens from Iran during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, as part of Operation Samudra Setu-I, by the Indian Navy.
A note on Operation Samudra Setu II
As India fights the pandemic as one, the Navy started what is called Operation Samudra II, a relief endeavour.
Ships from all three Naval Commands in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Kochi, have been deployed for shipment of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) and associated medical equipment from friendly foreign countries in Persian Gulf and South East Asia.
Earlier this month, Indian Naval Ship Talwar had entered the port of New Mangalore in Karnataka, ferrying two 27 tons liquid oxygen tanks from Bahrain. INS Kolkata had brought two 27 ton oxygen tanks, 400 Oxygen cylinders and 47 concentrators.
4 warships were also pressed into service to embark around nine 27-ton Oxygen tanks and more than 1500 oxygen cylinders from these countries.
The Indian warships had also taken part in repatriating Indian citizens from abroad.
They were INS Jalashwa and INS Shardul.
“The deployment of nine warships as part of ‘Operation Samudra Setu II’ forms a part of the multiple lines of effort, by the Government of India and the Indian Navy to supplement the oxygen requirement in the country,” the ministry of defence had said in a statement.
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