By Vikas Gupta
Defence News of India, 19 February 21
The 12and The President’s Fleet Review, a ceremonially resplendent and highly anticipated naval event, will take place in Visakhapatnam on Monday, February 21.
President Ram Nath Kovind, the supreme commander of the army, will review the naval fleet, which will include more than 60 locally built ships and submarines and 55 aircraft.
The Navy says the Fleet Review is: “a longstanding tradition followed by navies around the world” and is “an assembly of ships at a pre-designated location for the purpose of showing loyalty and allegiance to the Sovereign and the State”.
In reviewing the fleet, the Commander-in-Chief reaffirms his faith in its ability to defend the maritime interests of the nation. Marines often perform this exercise without any belligerent intent, but the President’s Fleet Review is an integral part of naval deterrence signaling, in which a nation displays its naval power.
By tradition, each president conducts a fleet review once during their term of office. The exam was scheduled to take place in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2020, but was canceled due to the pandemic.
The president’s yacht, which is a locally built naval offshore patrol vessel (NOPV) named INS Sumitra, will lead the presidential column in the review. The yacht will be distinguished by the Ashoka crest on her side and will sport the President’s standard on her mast.
After a ceremonial guard of honor and a 21-gun salute, the president – embarked on the presidential yacht, INS Sumitra – will sail through 44 ships lined up at anchor off Visakhapatnam.
The review will include a combination of Indian Navy as well as Coast Guard vessels. Ships from the Shipping Corporation of India and the Ministry of Earth Sciences will also participate.
During this most formal naval ceremony, each ship, dressed in all its insignia, will salute the President as it passes. The President will also review the Indian Naval Air Arm during a spectacular flyby of several helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
In the final stage of the examination, a mobile column of warships and submarines will pass the presidential yacht.
This display will also showcase the latest acquisitions of the Indian Navy. In addition, several riverside activities will be carried out, including the “Parade of Sails”, a demonstration of search and rescue at sea, aerial acrobatics by Hawk training planes and aquatic parachute jumps by the elite commandos of the navy (MARCOS).
The review will be followed by the release of a special first day cover and commemorative stamp by the President in the presence of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Communication Shri Devusinh J Chauhan.
Ships at anchor will be ceremoniously dressed with various naval flags in ceremonial dress during the day. They would be illuminated from sunset to midnight on February 19 and 20, which can be seen by citizens of Visakhapatnam from the waterfront.
