The Indian Navy Saryu-class patrol ship INS Sumedha (P58) has made a maiden call at Kenya’s port of Lamu.
Arriving at the port on 9 December, she became the first ever Indian naval ship to visit the still new port situated close to the Kenya/Somalia border.
INS Sumedha is on a long-range deployment to Africa. Previous stops included Egypt (for Exercise Bright Star 2023), Nigeria, Namibia, and Mozambique.
During her visit personnel from the ship engaged with a number of interactions with their counterparts in the Kenya Navy, including deck visits and sporting engagements, a joint yoga session, a deck reception and various other planned activities.
The 2,000-ton, 105-metre long vessel is the third in the Saryu class of patrol ships, designed and built at the Goa Shipyard in India, specifically for fleet support missions, coastal and offshore patrols and general monitoring of sea lanes of importance to India.
Sumedha is part of the Indian navy’s Eastern Naval Command, based at Visakhapatnam.
The ship is armed with a 76 mm gun, close-in weapon systems and CHAFF launchers and is powered by two KOEL/Pielstick diesel engines to provide a speed of 25 knots and a range of 6 000 nautical miles.
Written by Africa Ports & Ships and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.
