Seven Indian Navy ships displayed their strengths on Sunday in the Bay of Bengal, about 100 km off Paradeep port in Orissa.

This was done as part of the Navy Week celebrations.

“The Indian Navy has to protect the country’s coastal security and international trade at any cost,” Rear Admiral P. Murugesan said at a press briefing on board the INS Jalashwa, India’s first amphibious ship, referring to the Mumbai attacks in November last year and the hijack of commercial ships by sea pirates at the Gulf of Aden (in West Asia) by Somali sea pirates.

Paradip is located 124 km east of Bhubaneswar.

As part of its efforts to tighten coastal security, the Indian Navy plans to set up a base in Paradeep, Murugesan said. “A request has been made to the Orissa government for allotting land for the base,” he said.

He said that the Navy’s fleet would be expanded.

The Navy has about 140 ships in different categories with state-of-the-art gadgets.

The seven ships of the Eastern Fleet reached Paradeep, about 120 km east of Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.

About 7,000 visitors were present on the occasion.

On Sunday there were search-and-rescue demonstrations, helicopter operations, high-speed missile shows, underwater replenishment (from the INS Jalashwa to two other ships simultaneously at maximum speed), close-range anti-aircraft firing exercises and flag-past by naval aircraft and helicopters.

The idea was to instill confidence in people of about the country’s naval power, which is among the best in the world, having the capability to ward off any threat, Murugesan said.

The Indian Navy conducted naval operations at Kolkata last week with three ships.

Another round of operations will be conducted in Chennai next week.