The Indian Navy’s First Training Squadron (1TS) comprising Indian Naval Ships Tir and Sujata and Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarathi will be undertaking a goodwill visit to Colombo from 26-28 October 2026 as part of a long range training deployment including calls to Port Victoria, Seychelles and Male, Maldives prior to returning to their base port in Kochi.
The Squadron is responsible for imparting ab-initio sea training for Officer under Trainees of Indian Navy, Coast Guard and friendly foreign nations.
The squadron is under the command of Captain Tijo K Joseph, Senior Officer First Training Squadron and Commanding Officer INS Tir.
INS Tarangini, which is also part of 1TS, visited Sri Lanka in March 2026 to provide ocean sailing training and experience to the Sri Lanka Navy officer trainees from the Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA),Trincomalee.
The Director General Training of Sri Lanka Navy, Rear Admiral Rohan Joseph will visit the ships on arrival at Colombo Port.
He will interact with the Commanding officers, Training officers and Trainees onboard. Five trainees from Sri Lanka Navy are part of this long range training deployment.
The Senior Officer 1TS and Commanding Officerswill call on the High Commissioner of India, H.E. Shri Santosh Jha and Commander Western Naval Area, Sri Lanka Navy, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva.
The Officer cadets will have a series of professional, training and sports interactions with Sri Lanka Navy. The cross-visits of Indian cadets to NMA, Trincomalee, and Sri Lanka Navy’s cadets to training ships are planned.
A joint band performance by Indian Navy and Sri Lanka Navy will be held at Galle Face Green on 27 Oct 26.
Visits by Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels to Sri Lanka aim to further strengthen the strong bonds between both friendly Navies, which is in line with India’s policy of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and the vision of ‘Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (MAHASAGAR)’.