Friday, May 2, 2014

Three Indian Naval Ships Visiting Rangoon (April 2014)


Three Indian naval ships at Rangoon (27 April 2014).
Three warships of Indian Navy had visited Rangoon second time this year since India and Burma have thawed their long-frozen relationship during military dictatorship in Burma. Burma was a significant part of British Indian Empire for nearly a century since 1826.

Two Indian naval ships INS Gharial (L23) and INS Sujata (P56) from Indian Navy and ICGS Varuna (36) from Indian Coast Guard arrived at Rangoon’s Thilawar Naval Docks on April-27 and left Rangoon on April-30. Their first official visit to Rangoon was in last January just this year.

5,665 displacement-tons INS Gharial (L23) is a Magar Class Landing Ship and 1,890 displacement-tons INS Sujata (P56) is a Sukanya Class Patrol Vessel and 1,220 displacement-tons ICGS Varuna (36) is a Vikram Class Offshore Patrol Vessel.

585 Indian naval officers, sailors, and naval cadets led by Commanding-Officer-Captain Commodore Happy Mohan were on three visiting ships cordially welcomed at Rangoon’s Thilawar Naval Docks by Colonel Ye Min Oo (BN) and naval officers and sailors of Burma Navy.

“We’d been here before in last January also and this is our second time here. We are next-door-neighbours and we’ll be visiting each other’s ports very often,”  said happily Indian Naval Captain Mr. Manish Bandari at Thilawar Naval Docks.

The medical crew on three Indian ships had then treated patients free at nearby Than Hlyin Hospital. The nearly 600-strong Indian naval crew had also visited world-famous Great Shwe Dagon Pagoda, National Museum, and other significant places-of-interest in Rangoon the commercial capital and the largest city in Burma.

Select-some of the Indian naval crew then performed on stage at Rangoon’s National Theatre a large boisterous play named “Friendship and Harmony across The Indian Ocean” to general public as a friendship gesture to the people of Rangoon.

Three Indian naval ships then left Rangoon’s Thilawar Naval Docks on April-30 last Sunday.
5,665 displacement-tons Landing-Ship INS Gharial (L23)
1,890 displacement-tons Patrol-Vessel INS Sujata (P56)
1,220 displacement-tons Patrol-Vessel ICGS Varuna (36)
Fair well from Burmese Navy to Indian Warships.