From 02 to 13 October 2013, an eight-person team from the Indian Navy’s Headquarters Sea Training (HQST) conducted an operational sea training and safety audit of SAS Mendi in Simons Town in cooperation with the South African Navy’s Operational Sea Training Team (OST) Team.
The IN delegation included specialized officers and sailors and was led by Cmde Amit Gurbuxani, Chief Staff Officer of Flag Officer Sea Training.
There were two phases to the training. The pilotage, bridgework, handling of bridge crises, Force Protection Measures, fire-fighting and damage control drills, operational risk management, electrical and engineering best practices, and seamanship training were the main topics of discussion and interactive sessions throughout the harbour training phase. The bridge personnel received specialized training in the ship handling simulator.
The ship sailed for sea training on two separate occasions with the HQST and SAN OST crew aboard. The ship’s crew received hands-on instruction on topics covered in the harbor training during sea sorties. Precision navigation, force protection drills, boat drills, emergencies & breakdown drills, and conduct of damage control & fire fighting were the main focuses of maritime exercises.
The sharing of best practices and experiences between the IN and SAN OST teams advanced the professional dialogue. The OST concluded with a joint debrief to the ship’s crew that included observations, suggestions, and advice for putting excellent practices into practice.
The collaborative training program came to a close on October 13 during a brief ceremony aboard SAS Mendi. This team from HQST’s first training exercise has created new opportunities for IN and SAN to collaborate on training projects and has greatly improved the mutual respect between the two fleets.
