SAREX-2026 off Paradip will see the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) stage a simulated mass rescue on Thursday, built around a passenger aircraft with 228 people on board ditching at sea and the container vessel MV Zumba caught up in the same emergency. The 12th National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise runs alongside the 24th National Maritime Search and Rescue (NMSAR) Board meeting at Bhubaneswar.

Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth will inaugurate the exercise on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the Board meeting, and witness the search and rescue (SAR) demonstration off the Paradip coast the following day, according to the ICG.

15 Coast Guard ships, IAF C-130J and two Navy ships lined up for the sea phase

The force level is large. The ICG is deploying 15 of its ships, two Dornier aircraft, three Advanced Light Helicopters and a Chetak helicopter. The Indian Air Force is fielding a C-130J and an Mi-17, and the Indian Navy is sending two ships. Civil and state assets will join, backed by shore-based support units. The ICG has described it as one of the largest and most complex SAR exercises ever conducted in the region.

The scenario puts aeronautical and maritime distress on the water at the same time.

It is a Mass Rescue Operation, the class of emergency in which the number of people needing help exceeds the rescue capacity normally on hand. Ships, aircraft and helicopters from several agencies will have to work one scene together. The ICG aviation fleet of Dorniers and helicopters carries the air search, with the IAF transport and medium-lift aircraft adding reach.


NMSAR Board to take up distress alert management at Bhubaneswar

ICG chief Director General Paramesh Sivamani, AVSM, PTM, TM, will chair the 24th NMSAR Board meeting on Wednesday. Deliberations will focus on national SAR preparedness, distress alert management and faster mobilisation of rescue assets. Technology integration and seamless inter-agency coordination are the two routes the force has named for getting there, and the theme of the exercise follows the same line: Leveraging Technology to Strengthen SAR Preparedness and Maritime Safety.

The ICG Director General is designated the National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority and chairs the Board, which brings together the ministries, services and agencies that hold rescue assets or responsibilities at sea.

India's search and rescue region spans 4.6 million square kilometres

That is the area India answers for. Alongside rescue work, the ICG patrols it against maritime threats, piracy and drug trafficking. Its eastern units were in action off Paradip only last month, when the damage control team of ICGS Vishwast boarded and stabilised the flooding tanker MT Seagull 9 about 37 nautical miles from the port on 27 September. On the technology side, the Ministry of Defence has sought 10 Medium Altitude Long Endurance remotely piloted aircraft for the ICG, which would give the force large unmanned aircraft for long-range surveillance over the same waters.

SAREX-2026 off Paradip draws 32 observers from 30 countries

International participation is the major highlight this year. According to the ICG, 32 observers from 30 countries will watch the drill, which the force has framed around cooperative protocols and global interoperability.

The ICG has conducted SAREX since 2003, bringing national agencies and international partners into one drill. The 11th edition ran off Kochi in November 2024 alongside the 22nd NMSAR Board meeting and was inaugurated by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, according to reports at the time, under the theme Enhancing Search and Rescue Capabilities through Regional Collaboration. This year the exercise comes to Odisha. The outreach also follows the ICG's Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, in which ICG Ship Shaunak sailed from Chennai to Perth with sea riders from the four Quad nations aboard.

ICG ties the Board meeting and exercise to SAGAR and MAHASAGAR

The force has placed both events in line with the vision of SAGAR, Security and Growth for All in the Region, and the spirit of MAHASAGAR, the Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions outlook. The stated aim is a faster, technology-enabled and internationally connected search and rescue framework.

The exercise comes as the ICG marks 50 years of service, a milestone the force is celebrating under a 1977 to 2027 banner.