Top defence officials from India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives participated in a virtual trilateral table top exercise where they discussed best practices and procedures for countering common transnational maritime crime like curbing narcotics and assistance in maritime search and rescue.

The two-day exercise, TTX-2021, from July 14 to July 15 aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and exchange of best practices procedures for countering common transnational crime was coordinated by the Maritime Warfare Centre, Mumbai, the Indian High Commission here said.

The exercise focused on maritime crimes like curbing narcotics and assistance in maritime search and rescue in the region.

The exercise gains additional relevance in light of the successful Operation Sagar Aaraksha 2 executed in support of MV X-Press Pearl, the Singapore-flagged cargo ship that caught fire on May 21, the mission said.

Cargo ship MV X-Press Pearl was carrying 1,486 containers of chemicals and cargo when it went up in flames near the Colombo Port.

The Sri Lankan Navy, Airforce and the Indian Coast Guard jointly doused the fire in an operation that took days. However, the ship sank off the country’s coast on June 17.

Source: TREND News Agency