CHENNAI: The Indian Navy, along with central and state agencies, has successfully conducted the fourth edition of the Coastal Defence Exercise Sea Vigil 2024. During the exercise, the Navy neutralized several simulated terrorist threats on the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts.
The two-day exercise (on Nov 20 and 21) saw a series of orchestrated scenarios, including a dramatic hostage situation aboard MV Fairway off Chennai Port, where elite MARCOS commandos were airlifted from Visakhapatnam to rescue crew members from mock terrorists.
In another significant operation, security forces foiled a simulated attack on the sensitive Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam, with Tamil Nadu Commando Force and National Security Guard working in tandem to rescue hostages.
The exercise saw the interception of suspicious fishing trawlers in the Palk Bay region and the prevention of an attempted infiltration at Muyal Island.
A potentially devastating plot to mine vessels at Chennai Harbour was thwarted by vigilant Tamil Nadu police before the mock attackers could reach their targets.
"The exercise demonstrated remarkable inter-agency coordination and rapid response capabilities," said a senior naval officer.
The Subsidiary Joint Operations Centre at HQTNP (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area), manned round-the-clock by personnel from seven agencies, served as the nerve centre for the operations.
With 11 naval surface units and various air assets deployed, Sea Vigil 2024 not only tested existing security protocols but also validated new standard operating procedures for handling intrusions in uninhabited islands.
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