Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Africa. Nearby island countries and territories include the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the French overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and the Chagos Archipelago and Maldives to the east and borders Kenya to the far east. Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa as well as the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated population of 100,600 in 2022.
The Seychelles People's Defence Force is the national military of Seychelles. It consists of a number of distinct branches: the Infantry Unit, Coast Guard, Air Force and a Presidential Protection Unit.
The Maldivian Coast Guard is the naval or maritime arm of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). Because the Maldives does not have a navy, the MNDF Coast Guard functions as the armed maritime force of the nation with a charter to contribute to national defence and by and large to respond to issues related to the maritime security of the nation. Therefore, the Coast Guard is documented as the custodian of the Maldives Maritime Domain. Maritime security is a constituent ingredient of the national security in a maritime nation such as the Maldives and its significance is best understood when one perceives the island or the archipelagic nature of the country.
The Car Nicobar class of high-speed offshore patrol vessels are built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for the Indian Navy. The vessels are designed as a cost-effective platform for patrol, anti-piracy and rescue operations in India's exclusive economic zone. In 2023, one of the ships, INS Tarmugli, was donated to the Maldivian Coast Guard.
The Close Range Naval-91 is a naval version of the Medak 30mm automatic gun installed on the Sarath Infantry fighting vehicle, a variant of the Russian BMP-2 manufactured in India under license by the AVANI. The Medak gun itself is based on the Russian Shipunov 2A42 30 mm automatic cannon.
The action of 30 March 2010 was a naval battle involving a patrol boat of the Seychelles Coast Guard and two groups of Somali pirate vessels. The encounter resulted in the freeing of twenty-seven hostages held by the pirates.
The Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) is a branch of the Seychelles People's Defence Force created in 1993. It is a maritime, military, multi-mission service. They acquired responsibility for search and rescue for vessel incidents as well as environmental protection from the Seychelles Port Authority, formerly known as the Port and Marine Services Division.
The MV Beluga Nomination incident was the capture and attempted liberation of a German freighter from Somali pirates by the Seychelles Coast Guard and Royal Danish Navy in January 2011. A few days after the taking of MV Beluga Nomination, a Seychelles patrol boat and a Danish flexible support ship, HDMS Esbern Snare, encountered the pirates and engaged in a failed rescue operation.
Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA), an anti-piracy initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Allied Protector. Naval operations began on 17 August 2009 after being approved by the North Atlantic Council, the program was terminated on 15 December 2016 by NATO. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider, which transported relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme's mission in the region. The initiative also helped strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states to assist in countering pirate attacks. Notably, the Italian Military Support Base in Djibouti contributed to anti-piracy efforts as part of NATO's Operation Ocean Shield, utilizing naval vessels such as the ITS Mimbelli and ITS San Marco in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and off the coast of Somalia. Additionally, China, Japan and South Korea sent warships to participate in these activities.
India–Seychelles relations are bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Seychelles. India has a High Commission in Victoria while Seychelles maintains a High Commission in New Delhi.
The Rajshree-class patrol vessels are a series of eight inshore patrol vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for the Indian Coast Guard.
INS Sunayna is the second Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard Limited. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.
La Flèche (P32) is a 30-metre (98 ft) patrol vessel owned and operated by the Seychelles Coast Guard. La Flèche was donated to Seychelles by the United Arab Emirates, with a sister ship, on April 1, 2011.
PS Contant is a Trinkat-class patrol vessel owned and operated by the Seychelles Coast Guard. She was formerly operated by the Indian Navy as INS Tarasa (T63). India, as well as the United Arab Emirates, have helped equip the Seychelles Coast Guard with patrol vessels. India and the UAE helped equip the tiny Seychelles with these patrol vessels due to its strategic location, very near the area off the Horn of Africa that is notorious for pirate attacks.
INS Tarasa (T94) is a patrol vessel of the Car Nicobar-class of Indian Navy and the last ship in the series of four Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC). Unlike the United States Coast Guard's similarly sized Sentinel class cutters, the class is propelled by water jets, at up to 35 knots (65 km/h), where the American patrol vessels conventional propulsion systems maximum stated speed is 28 knots (52 km/h). Both classes have a mission endurance of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km).
The Trinkat-class patrol vessels of the Indian Navy were designed and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.
The following ships of the Indian Navy have been named INS Tarasa:
The following ships of the Indian Navy have been named INS Tarmugli:
MCGS Huravee, formerly INS Tarmugli is a patrol vessel of the Car Nicobar-class of Indian Navy and the first ship in the series of four Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC). The ship was commissioned by Vice Admiral HCS Bisht AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. The indigenously conceived, designed and built ship, named after an island of same name in the Andaman archipelago is capable of operating in shallow waters at high speeds. Built for extended coastal and off-shore surveillance and patrol duties the warship is fitted with advanced MTU engines, water jet propulsion as well as latest communication equipment.
India
Seychelles
