India Launches Fifth Sea Vigil Drill to Test Coastal and Offshore Security

A Nationwide Maritime Drill Gets Underway

India has opened the fifth round of its Sea Vigil coastal defence exercise, a large-scale rehearsal designed to test how well the country’s maritime and security bodies respond to threats along its shoreline and offshore zones. The Indian Navy is leading the effort, which brings together 21 agencies drawn from six central ministries.

The exercise spans the entire coastline and the Exclusive Economic Zone, and includes every coastal state and union territory. Participation extends beyond uniformed services to fishing communities and other stakeholders who work at sea or along the coast.

Structure and Timetable

The drill is split into two stages. The first, known as the Coastal Defence and Security Readiness Evaluation, runs from November 11 to 17. It is followed by the Sea Phase, scheduled for November 18 and 19, when assets are deployed at sea.

Forces taking part include Navy vessels and aircraft, Coast Guard units, state Coastal Security Police and customs personnel, along with other maritime agencies. Support for the exercise is coming from the Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

A specific focus is the protection of critical offshore installations, including oil platforms, which are considered potential targets and require constant monitoring.

Roots in the 2008 Mumbai Attacks

Sea Vigil was first conceived in 2018 as a way of checking whether measures adopted after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks had actually improved maritime security. The 2008 assault exposed serious gaps in coastal surveillance and in coordination among security agencies, and the exercise was designed to test the fixes that followed.

Each edition has allowed authorities to gauge preparedness across the country’s maritime organisations. The fifth iteration extends that testing into the EEZ as well as the coast itself.

Link to the Navy’s Wider Training

Sea Vigil also serves as a lead-up to the Theatre Level Readiness Operational Exercise, or TROPEX, which the Navy holds every two years to assess readiness across a broader maritime theatre. The two exercises cover different parts of the threat picture: Sea Vigil concentrates on coastal defence and readiness, while TROPEX addresses operations on the high seas. Officials say together they cover the full range of maritime security challenges.

What Next

Once the Sea Phase concludes on November 19, the results of both stages are expected to inform assessments of India’s maritime and national security posture, according to the official statement describing the exercise.