Continuing Navy escort duty to US ships

The Navy has sent another offshore patrol vessel, INS Sukanya, to the Malacca Straits, one of the world’s busiest trade routes and a hotbed of piracy, to “escort” US and coalition ships carrying “high value” cargo. The Visakhapatnam-based INS Sukanya will take the place of INS Sharada, which returned to her home base at Kochi on Monday after three months of “escort duties” for US ships carrying cargo for the In addition to carrying a commando crew for any emergency, the INS Sharada deployed for 12 operations between Port Blair and Singapore.