KOCHI: INS Sagardhwani, an oceanographic research vessel operated and maintained by the Indian Navy for the Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), will embark on a two-month-long Sagar Maitri Mission-2 on Thursday.
G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO will flag off the vessel from South Jetty, Southern Naval Command (SNC), Kochi.
Sagar Maitri is a unique initiative of NPOL/DRDO, which aligns with the broad objective of PM’s policy declaration ‘Safety And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), aimed to promote closer co-operation in socio-economic aspects as well as greater scientific interaction, especially in ocean research among Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries Oman, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar, a release said here on Tuesday. NPOL’s at-sea data collection activities are spearheaded by INS Sagardhwani, which conducts ocean research experiments in the Indian waters. Under the aegis of PM’s policy, DRDO’s specific scientific component is ‘MAITRI’ or Marine & Allied Interdisciplinary Training and Research Initiative.