Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) SANGRAM paid a goodwill visit to Hong Kong between December 3 and 5, en route from her homeport Mumbai to South Korea for a series of joint exercises.

Captain K Natrajan of the ICGS SANGRAM and a party of his senior officers, as well as officials from the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong, paid a courtesy call on Marine Regional Commander Debbie Chang Mo-see shortly after the ship had docked.

During the meeting, issues of mutual concern and interest were discussed, such as the challenges of maritime law enforcement, enhancement of co-operation and collaboration among partner maritime law enforcement agencies and joint approaches towards preventing and deterring terrorism and piracy in the maritime environment.

The visiting party was taken on board one of the brand new Medium Patrol Launches (MPL) acquired under the Versatile Maritime Policing Response. Captain Natrajan was full of praise for the MPL, and was impressed with its' speed, sea keeping and manoeuverability.

Ms Chang and a party of her senior officers subsequently paid a reciprocal visit to ICGS SANGRAM and were taken on a tour of the ship by Captain Natrajan. The SANGRAM class is a long range patrol ship, capable of performing varied functions such as anti-crime, anti-illegal immigration and anti-smuggling in the coastal waters of India, as well as extended patrols in adjacent offshore waters, environmental cleaning tasks and protection of Indian offshore facilities, such as oil and gas platforms.

The visit resulted in closer ties between the two agencies and initial proposals for joint visits and training opportunities.

Marine Regional Commander Debbie Chang Mo-see presents a souvenir to Captain K Natrajan