New Delhi: Naval warships INS Jalashwa and
INS Mysore which have been dispatched to evacuate the Indian nationals stranded in strife-torn Libya would start their operations from March 8, Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said here Thursday.
"The two warships will reach Alexandria on March 8. Once
the numbers are mustered in Tripoli, our ships can be involved
in the evacuation exercise," Verma told reporters on the
sidelines of a naval seminar.
The ships would wait at Alexandria till the evacuation
is over and these would be used to ferry the passengers to
Malta, he said.
"What has been worked out with the Ministry of External
Affairs is, these ships are not meant to carry passengers for
long distances. They are basically troop carriers. So, we
would move passengers from Tripoli or Benghazi to Malta," he
said.
From Malta the evacuation would take place through
private airlines and the aircraft provided by the Indian Air
Force.
Asked why the two warships are carrying a complement of
Marine Commandos (MARCOS), Verma said that it is now part of
Navy`s standard operating procedure for the vessels sailing in
the Gulf regions.
"This is now our standard routine. Whenever we send our
ships in these areas, we have marine commandos on it for the
protection of the ships or for the safety of the passenger,"
he said.
PTI
