Indian Navy’s INS Airavat set sail for home on Wednesday from Changi Naval Base here with COVID emergency relief material, including 3,650 oxygen cylinders of varying capacities and concentrators which are a part of separate commercial agreements between Tata Group, ITC and Linde Gas Ltd. INS Airavat arrived here on May 2 from Vizag as part of the Operation Samudra Setu 2, initiated by the Indian Navy to aid in transportation of medical oxygen and other supplies from other countries.
The relief efforts are set to continue over the next few days as a second naval ship from the Indian Navy will be arriving in Singapore. Airlifts of tanks are also being scheduled over the next week. This is in the light of the unprecedented impact that the COVID-19 outbreak is having in India and the multiple crises that it has engendered, said Adani Global which has donated 300 oxygen cylinders to the Indian Red Cross as contribution to India’s fight against COVID-19.
There has been an unprecedented surge in the number of COVID19 cases in the country since the past few weeks. The health infrastructure of several States has been overwhelmed by the very high number of daily cases and increased mortality. A record 3,780 fresh COVID-19 fatalities were registered in a single day in India taking the death toll to 2,26,188, while 3,82,315 new coronavirus infections were recorded.
INS Airavat is the third Shardul-class amphibious warfare vessel of the Indian Navy. Safety features aboard the Airavat include anti-roll flume stabilisation system, smoke curtains to impede spreading of smoke and toxic gases in case of fire, as well as battle damage control systems. Fully loaded, she can operate independently at high seas for up to 45 days. Airavat’s missions also include humanitarian assistance & disaster relief (HADR) during natural disasters.
