INS Trishul Souda Bay port call began on Saturday, when the Indian Navy's guided missile stealth frigate arrived at the Greek naval base on the island of Crete during her ongoing deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.

Her hosts for the visit are the Hellenic Navy. The ship will remain open to visitors through the port call.

INS Trishul Souda Bay programme includes Hellenic Navy talks and NATO training centre

According to the Ministry of Defence, the crew will hold interactions with senior functionaries of the Hellenic Navy and officials of the Indian Embassy in Athens. Professional discussions, cross-deck visits and cultural exchanges are also planned.

Two facilities are on the familiarisation list. One is Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay, a US Navy installation. The other is the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC), which runs boarding and interdiction training for NATO and partner navies from inside the Hellenic Navy's Souda Naval Base.

Crew to pay homage at Souda Bay War Cemetery

The crew will also pay homage at the Souda Bay War Cemetery. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the site, which holds the graves of Commonwealth servicemen from both World Wars.

One of them is Midshipman Edwin Peter Popert of the Royal Indian Navy. He was 19, serving aboard HMS Liverpool, when he died on 2 December 1940, the commission's records show. He lies among around 1,500 Commonwealth servicemen buried there.

INS Trishul called at Souda Bay in 2017

This is not the frigate's first visit to Crete. In April 2017, INS Trishul arrived at the same base with INS Mumbai, INS Tarkash and INS Aditya during an Indian Navy deployment to the Mediterranean and the west coast of Africa. Rear Admiral RB Pandit, then Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, called on the base commander during that stay, the Hellenic Navy said.

The newly commissioned frigate INS Tamal followed in August 2025, on her passage home from Russia. Her crew visited NMIOTC and paid homage at the war cemetery, and she held a passage exercise with the Hellenic Navy patrol boat HS Ritsos on departure, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Secretary visited Greece in October

Ties with Athens featured earlier this month too. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh toured Cyprus and Greece from 12 to 15 October, with maritime security and defence industrial cooperation on the agenda.

Souda Bay follows Civitavecchia on the Mediterranean deployment

INS Trishul came to Crete from Italy. At Civitavecchia, her crew went aboard the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour.

Before Italy, the Talwar class frigate called at Lisbon from 18 to 21 October. Earlier in the month she exercised with the Royal Navy off Plymouth in Exercise Konkan 2026. In September she called at Alexandria, joined the French Navy for Exercise Varuna at Toulon and then visited Valencia in Spain.