Indian Navy conducts an offshore security exercise ‘Prasthan’ off Mumbai coast

Tags: Defence

The Indian Navy’s Western Command conducted an exercise  ‘Prasthan’  on 12 November 2022 to evaluate organizational effectiveness in protecting offshore assets off Mumbai on an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) platform 150 km into the sea.

The Prasthan’ is conducted twice a year under the Western Naval Command. It aims to assess various measures and protocols conceived to address security threats and other contingencies that may arise in offshore oil production platforms.

The Indian Navy is the lead agency and has been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the oil production platforms off the coasts of India.

Mumbai High and Sagar Samrat 

Mumbai High or earlier known as Bombay High is an offshore oilfield located in the Arabian Sea, approximately 160 km west of the Mumbai coast, Maharashtra.

It is one of the largest oil and gas fields in India. It was discovered in 1974, by the Russian and Indian team from seismic exploration vessel Academic Arkhangelsky while mapping the Gulf of Cambay between 1964 and 1967.

The oil field commenced production in 1976 and is operated by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Sagar Samrat is India’s first oil rig platform that drilled the first offshore oil well offshore in Mumbai High.

The new One Rupee note issued by the Government of India has the picture of Sagar Samrat on its reserve side. 

Indian Navy 

The Indian Navy was founded on 26 January 1950.

It comes under the Union Ministry of Defence 

President is the supreme commander of the Indian Navy.

Current Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral R. Hari Kumar 

Navy Day: 4 December 

The Headquarters of the Indian Navy is at New Delhi