Two Japanese Naval ships arrived at Kochi

KOCHI (PTI): Two ships of Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) arrived here Thursday for a brief fuelling stopover on their way for anti-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Eden.

JDS Sazanami and JDS Inazuma, part of Escort Division Eight of JMSDF, would be away from their base port of Kure in Hiroshima prefecture for about 5 months, a defence press release said.

Captain Yoshikiyo Yamamoto, commander Escort Division Eight is the senior officer onboard JDS Sazanami.

The visiting Japanese Navy delegation accompanied by Colonel Nobutaka Mikasa, the Japanese Defence Attache to India, called on Rear Admiral SY Shrikhande, Chief of Staff of Southern Naval Command.

Earlier, a group of officers from Southern Naval Command visited the Japanese warships. There were also official briefings and professional exchanges on anti-piracy operations between the two navies.

The ships would depart Kochi on Friday morning, official sources said.