Navy, Air Force step up war against Covid

As part of “Operation Samudra Setu II”, the Indian Navy has deployed seven warships for shipment of liquid medical oxygen-filled cryogenic containers and related medical equipment from the Gulf and southeast Asia.

As on Saturday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) had also carried out 28 sorties from abroad, airlifting 47 oxygen containers with 830 MT of capacity, while from within the country, it carried out 158 sorties, airlifting 109 containers with 2,271 MT capacity. The Navy and the Air Force have also supplied nearly 500 portable oxygen cylinders from their stores to hospitals.

In a statement, the ministry of defence (MoD) said, “In support of the nation’s fight against Covid-19 and as part of the operation ‘Samudra Setu II’, seven Indian Naval ships viz. Kolkata, Kochi, Talwar, Tabar, Trikand, Jalashwa and Airavat have been deployed for shipment of liquid medical oxygen-filled cryogenic containers and associated medical equipment from various countries.”

The MoD added, “INS Kolkata and INS Talwar, mission deployed in the Persian Gulf, were the first batch of ships that were immediately diverted for the task and entered the various civilian port of Manama, Bahrain on 30 April 21. INS Talwar, with 40 MT liquid medical oxygen embarked, is headed back home. INS Kolkata has proceeded to Doha, Qatar for embarking medical supplies and will subsequently head to Kuwait for embarking Liquid Oxygen tanks.”

The MoD further said, “Similarly, on the Eastern seaboard, INS Airavat too has been diverted for the task, while INS Jalashwa, the LPD which played a key role during op Samudra Setu last year was pulled out of maintenance readied and sailed out to augment the effort. INS Airavat is scheduled to enter Singapore for embarking liquid oxygen tanks and INS Jalashwa is standing by in the region to embark medical stores at short notice. The second batch of ships comprising Kochi, Trikand and Tabar mission deployed in the Arabian sea has also been diverted to join the national effort.”

Pointing out that from the Southern Naval Command, the Landing Ship Tank INS Shardul is being readied to join the Operation within 48 hours, the MoD said, “Indian Navy also has the surge capability, to deploy more ships when the need arises to further the nation’s fight against Covid19. It is pertinent that the ships are combat-ready and capable of meeting any contingency in keeping with the attributes of the versatility of sea power.”