A batch of 168 officer sea trainees, including seven foreign trainees, of the 96th Integrated Officer Trainees Course (IOTC), passed out on Thursday at a ceremony held onboard INS Magar, on completion of their training onboard ships of the First Training Squadron (1TS) based at Kochi. Rear Admiral R.J. Nadkarni AVSM, VSM, Chief of Staff (CoS), Headquarters Southern Naval Command, reviewed the divisions and awarded trophies to the meritorious sea trainees. The 1TS comprises naval ships Tir, Magar, Shardul, Sujata, Coast Guard ship Sarathi, and the sail training ships Tarangini and Sudarshini.
The coveted Chief of the Naval Staff Trophy and Telescope for the best all round sea trainee was awarded to Sub Lieutenant Sanjeev Kumar Singh. Sub Lieutenant Ajay Kumar received the Binoculars for standing first in overall order of merit. Sub Lieutenant Sourav Kondal was awarded FOC-in-C East Rolling Trophy for showing maximum progress in service subjects during the term. Assistant Commandant Nischay Bhargava received the DG ICG Trophy for the best coast guard sea trainee, while Sub Lieutenant Chris P. John was adjudged the best sportsman and awarded the FOC-in-C South Rolling Trophy.
The sea training of 24 weeks commenced on June 24 for exposure to life at sea. During this period, the sea trainees were imparted instructions and hands on practical experience on seamanship, general navigation, astro-navigation, communications, gunnery, anti-submarine warfare and officer of the watch/officer of the Day. During the training, the 1TS spent 81 days at sea, covering 15,207 nautical miles. The sea trainees visited various ports on both east and west coast of India, and also got an opportunity to sail overseas to Antsiranana (Madagascar), Mombasa (Kenya), Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar (both in Tanzania). The Sea Trainees also sailed on board ships Tarangini and Sudarshini for their sail training phase.
The officers will now join various frontline naval warships and Coast Guard patrol vessels on the western and eastern sea board as part of their sea attachment Phase of ab-initio training.
