INS Sunayna is the second of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard Limited. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.[1]
The keel laying of the ship was done on 25 September 2007, it was launched on 14 November 2009,[2] was delivered to the navy for sea trials on 3 September 2013,[3] [4] and got commissioned into active service on 15 October 2013 at Kochi, her home port.[3] [4]
She will be deployed for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.[5]
In June 2018 she was deployed to Yemen's Socotra island as part of "Operation Nistar", an HADR mission to evacuate around 38 stranded Indian nationals in/around Socotra, after a cyclone hit the area.[6]
INS Sunayna, along with, was sent to the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in June 2019 to protect Indian shipping interests amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.[7]
INS Sunayna visited Durban, South Africa from 21 to 25 August 2023. The ship participated in Maritime Partnership Exercise with SAS Sekhukhune I, a Warrior-class inshore patrol vessel, off Durban.[8] Later, INS Sunayna also visited Port Victoria, Seychelles from 3 to 6 September 2023 where the crew of the ship interacted with the personnel of Seychelles Coast Guard.[9]
INS Sunayna went to Port Victoria, Seychelles on 15 June 2024, along with SCGS Zoroaster after the latter ship completed her minor refit at GRSE. She participated with Seychelles Coast Guard for their EEZ surveillance patrol under Commander Prabhat Ranjan Mishra.[10] The ship visited Port Louis, Mauritius from 20 to 22 June 2024 and participated in a surveillance exercise with Mauritius Coast Guard.[11] On 26 June 2024, INS Sunayna revisited Port Victoria along with a marching contingent and a bandboth of which will participate in the military parade of the 48th Seychelles National Day celebrations on 29 June 2024. An aerial demonstration of the naval variant of ALH Dhruv is also planned during the visit.[12]