The exercise aimed to improve coastal defense and national security in the maritime domain

The two-day nationwide Coastal Defence Exercise Sea Vigil-22 on November 15-16 saw the largest-ever participation from all maritime security agencies.

More than 500 surface assets from the Indian Navy (IN), Coast Guard (CG), States Marine/Coastal Police, Customs, Forest Department, Port Authorities and private operators participated in the exercise, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

The entire coastline was kept under surveillance by the IN and CG ships and aircraft. Helicopters were also pressed into service to reinforce Special Operations personnel operating onboard offshore platforms.

The conceptual and geographic scope of Sea Vigil included scenarios for both peacetime and wartime along the nation's entire coastline and EEZ.

Additionally, shore-based mitigating strategies in the event of a coastal security mechanism breach were validated.

More than 17 government organizations from nine coastal states and four union territories that are involved in the Coastal Defense Mechanism and Coastal Security construct took part in the exercise.

During the simulation, security measures at ports were also validated, and the crisis management strategies at each port were rated according to how well they handled emergencies. For the purpose of combating maritime terrorism, the state police teams, Indian Navy Marine Commandos, and National Security Guard Commandos all participated in the training.

More than 800 NCC cadets enthusiastically participated in events across the coastal states and UTs.

The National Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence (NC3I) Network's technological surveillance infrastructure was also validated by the exercise. The coordination of the surveillance and information-dissemination system was handled by the Information Management and Analysis Center (IMAC) in Gurugram and its many nodes throughout the IN and CG stations.

According to the Ministry of Defense's official news release, the exercise's intended goals were achieved thanks to the enthusiastic involvement of all stakeholders.

It also stated that the exercise will significantly improve coastal defense and national security in the marine domain and that the collaboration and coordination among the numerous agencies engaged are encouraging indicators of progress made in the field of coastal defense.