Under a bright Gulf of Oman sky, the Indian Navy’s INS Surat eased alongside in Muscat on 8 November, bringing one of its newest guided missile destroyers to the 15th edition of the bilateral exercise Naseem Al Bahr, or Sea Breeze. The arrival opens a programme that will move from the harbour to open water and end with a coordinated patrol alongside the Royal Navy of Oman.
According to Arab News, the Omani and Indian navies began the exercise on Monday in the Al Batinah maritime area of Oman, with a mix of theoretical and practical applications on the schedule.
Harbour first, then the sea
The Indian Navy says the exercise will bring together professional activities across both phases. Ashore, that means cross-deck visits, operational interactions and sporting events, the kind of exchanges where sailors from two navies compare routines, equipment and habits. At sea, the focus shifts to working together in practice, followed by a Coordinated Patrol, or CORPAT, between the two navies.
The aim, as the Navy puts it, is to share experiences and best practices, sharpen interoperability and build mutual understanding. These are the unglamorous parts of naval cooperation that matter most when ships from different fleets have to operate as one.
A partnership three decades old
Sea Breeze is no recent invention. The first Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman exercise was conducted in 1993, and the series has since grown into a regular fixture. Past editions have rotated between the two countries’ waters. In 2022, the exercise was held off Oman in three phases: harbour, sea and debrief. In October 2024, it moved to the Indian side, with INS Trikand, a Dornier maritime patrol aircraft and Oman’s RNOV Al Seeb taking part in both harbour and sea activities.
The relationship rests on much older foundations. Official accounts note that maritime interaction between India and Oman dates back more than 4,000 years B.C., and that a 1953 treaty of friendship, navigation and commerce was India’s first of its kind with an Arab country.
The wider frame
The port call fits the Government of India’s MAHASAGAR vision, short for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions. It also builds on the momentum from the 13th Joint Military Cooperation Committee meeting between the two countries, held on 24 November 2025.
Oman sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, beside some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and the waters off its coast carry much of the energy and trade that India depends on. A navy that can patrol, communicate and operate smoothly with its Omani counterpart is better placed to protect those routes. For both sides, the lasting value of Sea Breeze lies less in any single drill than in the trust built across the decks, one visit, one match and one shared patrol at a time.
