New Delhi [India], June 28 (ANI): The Naval Investiture Ceremony, held at Nausena Bhawan, honoured several personnel of the Indian Navy with gallantry awards for their exemplary service.

The awards were conferred to honour and recognise bravery, leadership, professional achievement, and distinguished service of Naval Personnel.

A total of 51 personnel were conferred with awards during the ceremony, which included one Yudh Seva Medal, thirteen Nausena Medals (Gallantry), eight Nausena Medals (Devotion to Duty), and seventeen Vishisht Seva Medals.

On being conferred with the Nausena Medal (Gallantry), Lieutenant Commander Vaibhav Tyagi said, 'This award has been given to me for the mission rescue which we conducted in the Red Sea. This was on March 6, 2024. During the Houthis' attack, the crew of the merchant vessel True Confidence sustained injuries after being hit by a missile... As the Indian Navy, we were the first responders to this situation... The entire merchant vessel was on fire... The 21 crew of the vessel were in a small boat and were injured and adrift in the open sea... The location was not known, but they needed immediate assistance... We located the boat and evacuated them...'

The ceremony underscored the Indian Navy's critical role in ensuring maritime security amid rising threats.

Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi congratulated the awardees and remarked that this occasion is of special significance, as it represents a formal acknowledgement by the Indian Navy of the conspicuous acts of gallantry and devotion to duty of its personnel.

Commodore Kartik Srimal, conferred with the Yudh Seva Medal, highlighted the operation's scope, stating, 'After the Israel-Hamas conflict spread into the maritime domain, several merchant ships were under attack. Indian Navy launched Operation Sankalp, and the aim was to deter piracy, drone and missile attacks, and to ensure the safety of our maritime crew... This operation was done over an area of 51 lakh square kilometres, which included the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, parts of the South and West Indian Ocean... That is one and a half times the land mass of India. It was an unprecedented operation for which about 21 ships were deployed with about 5,000 personnel... We were required to discern the patterns of piracy attacks, the tactics they were using, the places where the fishermen were getting hit, the kind of hot spots for drone and missile attacks, and then do an analysis to derive some meaningful input. The area was very large, and we pressed our naval aviation assets so that they could carry out reconnaissance. We were getting inputs from many sources. There were international organisations, merchant ships, fishermen, our own ships, and aircraft giving us inputs... We were required to collate all these inputs and get something actionable...'

Lieutenant Commander Saurabh Malik, awarded the Nausena Medal (Gallantry), recounted his mission on February 2, 2022, saying, '... Our Operation took place on February 2, 2022. A fishing vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates. There were 20 fishermen. The vessel was hijacked and was being taken to Somalia. Our ship, INS Sharda, intercepted that vessel. Our team of eight people approached the vessel in a rubber boat... We were able to close in quickly... The pirates had killed one fisherman already, but we were able to save the rest of the 19 fishermen.'

The ceremony was also attended by the families of the awardees and senior dignitaries from the Indian Navy.

The ceremony concluded with a Dinner hosted by the Chief of the Naval Staff for the awardees and their families, and a reaffirmation of the Navy's motto of 'Safeguarding National Maritime Interests - Anytime-Anywhere'. (ANI)