India, UK hold naval exercise in memory of HMS Trincomalee built 200 years ago in Mumbai

"It is a very historic moment as this is the first time an Indian stealth frigate has docked at Canary Wharf in London," said Indian deputy high commissioner to the UK, Dinesh K Patnaik.

New Delhi: The navies of India and Britain are holding joint exercises in memory of HMS Trincomalee which was built 200 years ago in Mumbai.

The exercise coincided with the “UK India Year of Culture 2017” being celebrated in the two countries.

In a first, Indian stealth frigate INS Tarkash is participating in the exercise. INS Tarkash reached London on Sunday and currently docked in the Thames.

"It is a very historic moment as this is the first time an Indian stealth frigate has docked at Canary Wharf in London.

“We wanted Indians based in the UK to come and be part of this unique event," said Indian deputy high commissioner to the UK, Dinesh K Patnaik.

The frigate's arrival in London was marked by a series of Indian cultural performances, with the crowds dancing to patriotic tunes.

INS Tarkash, under the command of Captain Rituraj Sahu, set sail from Mumbai last month and will remain docked in London until next week.

HMS Trincomalee is a Royal Navy frigate built shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. She is now restored as a museum ship in Hartlepool, England.

Trincomalee is one of two surviving British frigates of her era housed in UK museums. The other frigate is HMS Unicorn now kept in a museum in Dundee.

It is said that Trincomalee was built in Bombay, due to oak shortages in Britain as a result of shipbuilding drives for the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was named Trincomalee after the 1782 Battle of Trincomalee off the Ceylon in Sri Lanka.