Two Canadian naval warships 'Calgary' and 'Protecteur' will take part in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal before embarking on their return journey back to Canada following a four-month counter-terrorism deployment in the Arabian Sea as part of a multinational coalition, the Combined Task Force (CTF) 150.

This port of call is a part of strategic engagement visits for Canada. The purpose of undertaking such joint exercises is to build operational skills between the warships, according to the commanding officer of the multi-purpose frigate Commander Kelly Larkin on board the ship, after it had docked at the Chennai port.

The main mission of the two ships was to counter terrorism across the globe. The purpose of the visit was to increase confidence and strengthen ties between the two navies, Larkin said.

During the three-day stopover in Chennai, crew members would take part in community service and also go sight-seeing in Chennai. Over 100 members of the Canadian crew had volunteered their time to work on the facilities at a local school and a research foundation, said Larkin. The crew would visit Servasev Vidhyalaya School in Manithottam and the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation on the IT Corridor.