India’s Navy Chief Admiral Tripathi says Pakistan Navy didn’t dare leave port during Op Sindoor

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi in Delhi on Tuesday (Dec 2) said that Operation Sindoor was still underway. He said that during Op Sindoor, the deployment of the carrier battle group "forced Pakistani Navy to be in ports & they never ventured out". He noted that the historic military operation by the Indian forces had an impact on the Pakistani economy with "many major shipping companies avoided Pakistani ports and increased the insurance premium". Tripathi revealed that the Indian Navy is heading into the next decade with a sharper edge at sea and a clearer sense of its strategic goals.

Rafale-M to join Navy fleet soon

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said that the force expects to receive the first batch of four Rafale-M fighters for its carrier fleet by 2029. Pointing to the pace of naval expansion over the past year, he said that "since the last Navy Day," the force has commissioned one submarine and 12 warships. Among them was INS Udaygiri, the 100th warship designed by the Navy's own design bureau.

He noted that the Prime Minister's Diwali visit to INS Vikrant, where he witnessed live multidomain operations, had boosted morale across the service. But the bigger story, Tripathi said, lies in the Navy's constant operational grind far from home waters. One Indian warship has been stationed in the Gulf of Aden without a break since 2008.

Indian Navy's 17-year-long mission

"We have maintained one ship in the Gulf of Aden continuously since 2008. The ship is relieved on station for anti-piracy duties. To date, 138 ships have been deployed for that, and they have successfully escorted more than 3,700 merchant vessels of all nationalities and crew."

He added that since last November, when the Red Sea crisis set off a spike in attacks, the Navy has expanded that presence further. Forty capital ships, along with their helicopters and support assets, have been tasked to keep sea lanes open. "They have ensured safe transit of 152 lakh metric tons of cargo on 376 merchant vessels. To our estimate, it has been valued at more than 6.5 billion US dollars. We have also responded to more than 30 incidents during this period and saved more than 520 lives at sea."

He noted that a Navy ship involved in a rescue off Oman last year received a commendation from the International Maritime Organisation after it pulled nine crew members from the burning tanker Prestige Falcon. Tripathi said he also received a personal note of thanks from the head of the Oman Navy, a reminder of how India's maritime footprint is growing well beyond the subcontinent.

"One of our ships received a letter of commendation from the International Maritime Organisation for the daring ops at sea last year, when she saved nine crew members from the motor tanker Prestige Falcon of Oman. I also got a thank-you letter from the chief of the Oman Navy."