Sea Vigil-26 Coastal Defence Exercise Begins

The fifth edition of the pan-India coastal defence exercise Sea Vigil-26 began on 11 November 2026. Coordinated by the Indian Navy as lead agency, it is scheduled to run until 19 November and involves 21 agencies.

Two phases across India’s coastline

The Coastal Defence and Security Readiness Evaluation phase runs from 11 to 17 November, followed by the Sea Phase on 18 and 19 November. The exercise covers India’s entire coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone, involving all coastal states and Union Territories, as well as fishing and coastal communities.

Participating forces and agencies include the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Coastal Security Police, Customs and other maritime bodies. Coordination involves the Ministries of Defence; Home Affairs; Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The exercise also focuses on protecting critical offshore assets, including oil platforms.

Purpose and operational link

Conceptualised in 2018 after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Sea Vigil aims to validate and strengthen India’s maritime security framework. It also precedes the Indian Navy’s biennial Theatre Level Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX). Together, the exercises address maritime security challenges from coastal defence to operations on the high seas.

Important Facts for Exams

• Maritime jurisdiction: The Indian Coast Guard’s jurisdiction covers territorial waters, the contiguous zone and the exclusive economic zone, spanning coastal and offshore security.
• Coastal-security coordination: The Indian Coast Guard Director-General is responsible for coordinating central and state agencies on coastal-security matters.
• Maritime-domain awareness hub: India’s Information Management and Analysis Centre at Gurugram is the national maritime-domain-awareness hub, integrating inputs from coastal radar stations and other surveillance systems.
• Regional information-sharing centre: Established in 2018, the Indian Navy-hosted Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region shares maritime information with partner countries to improve regional domain awareness.