As part of the ongoing deployment to the Mediterranean, Indian Navy Talwar-class stealth frigate INS Tabar entered the Port of Naples, Italy on 03 July 2021. The ship was accorded a warm welcome by the Italian Navy. During the stay in port the Commanding Officer Captain Mahesh Mangipudi called on the senior officers of the Prefect of Naples Authority, the regional Italian Navy Headquarters and the Coast Guard Headquarters at Naples. In recent times, the ship has visited various ports of the Persian Gulf on a goodwill mission and the visit was highly successful.
On departure from port, the ship also undertook a Maritime Partnership Exercise with ITS Antonio Marceglia (F 597), a frontline frigate of the Italian Navy, on 04 and 05 July 2021 in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The exercise covered a wide range of naval operations including air defence procedures, replenishment at sea, communication drills and cross deck helo operations by day and night. The exercise was mutually beneficial in enhancing interoperability and towards consolidating combined operations against maritime threats. The exercise culminated with a ‘Steam Past’ by the two ships, as per the naval custom.
INS Tabar (F44) is the third of the Talwar-class frigate of the Indian Navy. The frigate was commissioned on 19 April 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia with Captain (later Vice Admiral) Biswajit Dasgupta. Fully loaded, INS Tabar has a displacement of 4,035 tons. The main engines of INS Tabar are the Zorya/Mashproekt M7N-1E gas turbine plant comprising two DS-71 cruise turbines (each rated up to 9,000 hp) and two DT-59 boost turbines. These power-plants move INS Tabar to 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).
Antonio Marceglia (F 597) is a Carlo Bergamini-class frigate of the Italian Navy. Which in turn were developed by the FREMM multipurpose frigate program. She was laid down on 12 July 2015 and her launching ceremony took place at the Fincantieri plants in Riva Trigoso. She was commissioned on 16 April 2019. The FREMM (“European multi-purpose frigate”; French: Frégate européenne multi-mission; Italian: Fregata europea multi-missione) is a family of multi-purpose frigates designed by Fincantieri and Naval Group for the navies of Italy (10 frigates) and France (8 frigates).
