Introduction The Indian Ocean can arguably be called the cradle of civilization. Connections established through its medium predate even the Viking forays by over 4000 years. The Indian Ocean region, from 5000 BC till the dawn of the 16th century, presented a scene of great trading activity, both coastal and trans-oceanic. Though the land powers were constantly at war with each other, they left the…
A Brief Historical Survey of the Indian Ocean Region
Introduction The Indian Ocean region since antiquity has been a melting pot of civilizations and cultures which have continually intermingled through trade. Connections established through it’s medium predate even the Viking forays into the northern part of the American continent by over 4000 years. Contrary to general belief, the history of the Indian Ocean region certainly did not begin in 1498, when the Portuguese explorer…
Mesmerising Maldives
Maldives is a country like no other. A brief stay there convinced me of that. I had come here to attend a maritime conference, with my wife accompanying me as a tourist. Soon after our arrival at the Male international airport in the dead of night, we were whisked away to the nearby Hulhule Hotel. When awakened by the sunlight trickling in through the expansive…
Dominant Naval Presence in the Indian Ocean
Introduction The Indian Ocean region had been renowned since antiquity for its free trade and fair practices. This is where all the great civilizations of India, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Persia, Melaka, Bengal and China met, as partners rather than as adversaries. Contrary to the general belief, the history of the Indian Ocean region certainly did not begin in 1498 when the Portuguese adventurer Vasco de…
Terrorism and other Maritime Threats in the Indian Ocean Region
Introduction. Terrorism poses the gravest of threats to the global community, let alone the Indian Ocean region. Its poster child for a long time in the nineteen sixties and seventies was the Palestine Liberation Organization, which had been forced to resort to such measures to highlight a cause that the world was turning its back on. The first well-publicized case of maritime terrorism was possibly…
IMO: One Hundred Years after the Titanic
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has since long explicitly recognized shipping to be “perhaps the most international of all the world’s great industries and one of the most dangerous”. Ever since the advent of steamships around the middle of the nineteenth century, safety at sea has always been a prime concern. It is no wonder then that the IMO has decided to highlight this aspect…
Seafearing Vibes 6
My stay on board PNS TIPPU SULTAN as it’s Executive Officer was a fairly tumultuous one, due, in no small part, to the fact that the ship was serving at the time as the flagship of the Commander 25th Destroyer Squadron (COMDESRON-25). Anyway, COMDESRON-25, who was also the Commanding Officer at the time, once decided to invite all the specialists at PNS SHIFA to lunch…
Seafearing Vibes 5 (Mean Times In Greenwich)
A military staff course is quite an experience in itself. Undergoing it at the Royal Naval Staff College at Greenwich is transcendental: the place is steeped in history. The world remembers Greenwich for its mean time, it’s prime meridian and it’s royal observatory. It’s maritime credentials are bolstered by the presence of the Cutty Sark (and now the Gypsy Moth IV also) next to the…
Seafearing Vibes 4
While borne on board PNS DACCA as a watch-keeper, I couldn’t help but notice that the Commanding Officer in particular took great pride in the bakery items, cakes, biscuits et al, churned out by the ship’s galley. On one occasion during Exercise Midlink ’75, while the ship was engaged in replenishment-at-sea, a box of cookies was received from the ship at the other end, which…
Seafearing Vibes 3
As far as anecdotes go, the valiant ship TIPPU SULTAN the First, she of the Battle of River Plate fame, really stood out. Another claim to fame could possibly be the recovery of four to five sonobuoys dropped by a US Maritime Patrol Aircraft during the Midlink Exercise of 1974, before they could sink as they were programmed to. This was arguably the first close…
