For the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) Lieutenant Lyu Ding Yuan Max, his time aboard the Indian Navy Ship (INS) Sunayna was underscored by two key takeaways: cross-cultural collaboration and a renewed spirit of maritime camaraderie.
“I think it’s a very fulfilling experience, because we get to share each country’s best practices,” said the 25-year-old assistant operations officer from the Republic of Singapore Ship (RSS) Indomitable.
LTA Max was one of 38 participants from 16 countries who sailed on the INS Sunayna, which had been recently designated as the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR as part of a unique operational initiative by the Indian Navy under the theme of “One Ocean, One Mission”.
“SAGAR” is an acronym for “Security and Growth for All in the Region”, encapsulating the approach that maritime challenges are best addressed through partnership, not competition.
The ship had completed port calls at Male (the Maldives), Phuket (Thailand), and Jakarta (Indonesia) respectively, before arriving in Singapore, where it docked at the Changi Naval Base from April 26 to 29.
As part of RSN’s sea-rider programme, LTA Max embarked IOS SAGAR on April 14 in Phuket and became part of the ship’s multinational crew for 12 days. During his stint, he interacted with naval personnel from Tanzania, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, and more.
“Through these interactions, we build a lot of friendships, which at the end of the day will be very precious memories for us,” he added. One of the officers with whom LTA Max struck a close bond is Lt.JG Weerayoot Lertlum of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN).
“I have never been on a foreign ship before or worked with naval officers from foreign countries, so this is a very good initiative,” the 25-year-old RTN navigating officer said.
IOS SAGAR’s second in command, Lieutenant Commander JP Srinivas, 35, noted that on the first day, “we were also nervous to handle 16 countries together, whose cultures and food habits were different”.
“All of them were so cooperative. Initially, we came up with a continental and a Mexican menu. After a period of time, everyone wanted the Indian menu,” Lt Cdr Srinivas added.
The joint exercise is also a multinational effort “to learn from one another so that we are ready for any calamity, which may befall any of these partner nations in the future,” noted Commander Siddharth Chaudhary, 41, IOS SAGAR’s commanding officer.
During its three-day port call in Singapore, IOS SAGAR engaged with the RSN through a series of professional and community interactions. This included visits by the Indian ship’s crew to the RSN’s Navigation and Damage Control simulators, Information Fusion Centre and the Navy Museum.
The crew also hosted a grand deck reception on April 28, attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), RSN, and the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore Shilpak Ambule.
“Despite the prevalent complex maritime environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the coming together of 16 like-minded maritime countries through IOS SAGAR sends a strong message,” Mr Shilpak said.
IOS SAGAR will be visiting three more ports in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka before completing the deployment phase of its mission.
