The Maldives government has officially handed over the naval ship gifted by the Indian government as the replacement for the naval "Ship Huravee", which was the largest vessel in the Maldives military.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih attended the ceremony to commission the new vessel, held in Hulhumalé on Tuesday, May 02.
Maldives Minister of Defense Mariya Ahmed Didi received the naval ship from her Indian counterpart Sri Rajnath Singh, who is on a three-day visit to the Maldives.
The Indian government had first commissioned "Huravee" to the Maldives in 2006, making it the largest vessel in the Maldivian military fleet. According to the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), the Indian government also provided free maintenance check-ups and repairs for the vessel every two years since it was commissioned. The vessel underwent a total of six repairs at the Indian naval dockyard.
According to MNDF, the newly commissioned vessel has better operational capabilities and is larger than "Huravee". With the new vessel's handover, MNDF's Coastguard has officially decommissioned "Huravee".
The Indian crew who commandeered the new vessel to the Maldives will depart after the two-week training program for Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) officers is completed
While the Indian government has gifted a modern naval ship, they previously gifted another military vessel named ‘Kaamiyaabu’ (Dhivehi for ‘Success’) in 2019. In addition to the naval ships, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) is also utilizing a helicopter and a Dornier aircraft gifted by the Indian government.
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