INS Netaji Subhas, the Indian Navy's eastern command installation in Kolkata, has launched preparatory activities for Exercise Sea Vigil 2026, a high-intensity, two-day coastal security drill scheduled across India's entire coastline on 18–19 November 2026. The fifth edition of the nationwide exercise is expected to involve multiple central and state agencies, and all three armed services.

Community Outreach at Kultali

As the first step in a sensitisation drive, naval officials from INS Netaji Subhas travelled to Kultali in South 24-Parganas district, West Bengal, on Thursday, 29 October 2026. The visit was conducted in coordination with the Department of Fisheries, Government of West Bengal, and centred on engaging the large local fishing community. Officials briefed fishermen on the exercise's significance in the current geopolitical environment and on their designated role as 'Eyes and Ears of the Nation' — a community-watch framework that has been central to post-26/11 coastal security architecture.

Scale and Scope of Sea Vigil 2026

Exercise Sea Vigil spans all 11,098 km of India's coastline and extends into the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which covers 2.4 million square kilometres. The exercise is designed to test the preparedness of agencies responsible for safeguarding ports, oil rigs, vulnerable areas (VAs), vulnerable points (VPs), and cable landing stations. The 2024 edition involved six central ministries, 21 central and state agencies, and key maritime security stakeholders — with the Army and Air Force also participating. Both services are expected to participate again in 2026.

Red vs Blue: How the Exercise Works

The drill adopts a Red Team–Blue Team structure: Red teams simulate adversarial attacks while Blue teams defend critical installations. During the 2024 edition, simulated threats included dud Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted within the Victoria Memorial campus in Kolkata, 'armed' infiltrators entering a port facility, and a waterborne 'strike' attempted on defence shipbuilder Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE). The scenarios are, by design, as close to real-world contingencies as possible. The exercise also validates Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and inter-agency coordination protocols, including intelligence sharing across maritime boundaries.

West Bengal and the Sundarbans Challenge

West Bengal holds special strategic importance in the coastal security framework, owing to the Sundarbans — the world's largest mangrove delta — whose dense and remote terrain poses significant monitoring challenges for security forces. The region's geography makes it a priority zone for the exercise. Beyond the military and paramilitary apparatus, NCC cadets, NSS volunteers, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and local fishermen are actively incorporated into the exercise to build a broad-based culture of maritime vigilance.

Indian Navy as Lead Maritime Security Agency

The Indian Navy was designated lead agency for maritime security in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008, which exposed critical gaps in India's coastal defence grid. Exercise Sea Vigil, first held in 2019, emerged directly from that accountability mandate. With this being the fifth edition, the exercise has become a biennial benchmark for testing whether lessons from previous drills have been institutionalised across agencies. All eyes will be on whether the 2026 edition raises the bar further.