India and Sri Lanka open the thirteenth SLINEX maritime exercise
The five-day Visakhapatnam exercise brings together INS Kavaratti, INS Jyoti and SLNS Sindurala for harbour and sea phases.
The thirteenth Sri Lanka-India bilateral maritime exercise is being conducted in Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September. INS Kavaratti, fleet tanker INS Jyoti and Sri Lankan Navy ship SLNS Sindurala are participating.
The harbour phase includes professional exchanges and cross-deck visits. A subsequent sea phase is intended to test coordinated activities and interoperability.
Why it matters
Regular bilateral exercises can improve communication, operating familiarity and maritime coordination between neighbouring navies in the Indian Ocean.
SCULTRA point of view
The practical measure is progression in exercise complexity, safety, communications, logistics, after-action learning and continuity across editions, rather than the number of ceremonial engagements.
Limitations
The release was issued while the exercise was underway. It describes intended sea-phase activity but provides no completed drill results, readiness assessment, detailed scenario, future commitment or independent evaluation of interoperability.
Source: Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Defence and Indian Navy, 20 September 2026.