India Deploys Wave Rider Buoy off Seychelles

Indian Ocean the world's third largest water body is where India and China are trying hard to increase their influence.

Both countries are using non-traditional ways to fight the security challenges from each other as well as other regional actors.

Control on Indian Ocean is important as it has critical sea routes that connect the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. India is not ready to let go off its dominance over the Indian Ocean and the island nations that have been friends with us since centuries.

As a part of the 'Integrated Ocean Information System' for the Indian Ocean Countries, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, successfully deployed a Wave Rider Buoy off the Frigate Island, Seychelles.
Ocean state forecasts are imperative for safe navigation and operations at sea.

The 'Integrated Ocean Information System' is being established by INCOIS under the technical cooperation umbrella of the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES).

Role of India:

India is serving as the Chair of the RIMES Executive Council represented by the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.

This event is a follow up to the inauguration of the Earth System Sciences Organisation (ESSO) - INCOIS Ocean State Forecasting System for Seychelles and Sri Lanka by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology, in July 2015 at the 2nd RIMES Ministerial Conference in Delhi.

How will it help:

The ocean data collected will be useful not only to validate the Wave and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) forecasts from INCOIS for the oceanic region surrounding Seychelles in real time but will also help in analysing and tracking high swell events originating from the Southern Ocean and arriving at the southwest coast of India.

These observations will help in further strengthening and enhancing our capability to predict the occasional High Wave events (Kallakadal) that often attack the Kerala coast causing damages to coastal villages and fishing boats.

Safe retrieval of Buoy:

To ensure the buoy safety and easy retrieval, a 'Buoy drift alert system' has also been developed and implemented. All concerned officials will receive the alert, in case the buoy drifts more than 200 metres from its position.