Vietnam Coast Guard ship arrives at Chennai port

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India] Oct 2 (ANI): Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) ship CSB 8001, on its maiden visit to India, arrived at Chennai port as a part of an international cooperative effort with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
The commandant of VCG, Major General Nguyen Van Son, and ICG Inspector General Paramesh Sivamani (East) welcomed the visiting ship which traversed a distance of 3,575 nautical miles from its base port Hanoi in Vietnam.
A six-member delegation, headed by the commandant of VCG, also arrived in Chennai for interaction with ICG and to witness joint exercise and various events organised between the two maritime forces.
The ICG Inspector General said, "Under MoU signed in 2015, the ICG and VCG got into a collaborative arrangement in which ship visits have been institutionalised and so have the high-level meetings. The delegation arrived at Chennai last night and today they will be interacting with the Indian Coast Guard. They will also be visiting Kattupalli shipyard where ship guard is building ships for the VCG."
During the stay, ICG and VCG ship will take part in Indo -Vietnam joint exercise Sathyog - Hop Tac 3028 in Chennai on October 4 to promote interoperability between the two maritime forces. A total of three ships, one helicopter, one Dornier from ICG and visiting ship of Vietnam Coast Guard will participate in the joint exercise.
"Tomorrow, we will be having an interaction at the regional headquarters and showing our capabilities with respect to maritime rescue coordination centre and the regional operating centre for the coastal security network. During the joint exercise, we will be exercising measures of anti-piracy, search and rescue, pollution control and fire fighting," Paramesh added.
This visit will strengthen cooperation and address maritime security threats including illegal fishing, human trafficking, drug and firearms.(ANI)