President Ram Nath Kovind on 21 Feb 2022 Indian Navy 12^th  conducted Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam. He is in the Visakhapatnam port city for a three-day visit to the Eastern Naval Command to celebrate Presidents Fleet Review. This is the second time that Visakhapatnam is hosting the Fleet Review, the first being in the year 2006 by the then President of India APJ Abdul Kalam.

As the Supreme Commander of our armed forces, every President of India reviews the Indian Naval Fleet once during their term.

The Fleet Review is aimed at assuring the country of the Indian Navy’s preparedness, high morale and discipline.

This is the twelfth Fleet Review and is being conducted on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence being celebrated as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ by the central government.  

What is the Presidents Fleet Review?

• Since President is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces of the country, the President of India takes stock of the Armed Forces.
• A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to hold fleet reviews. Fleet reviews may also include participants and warships from multiple navies.
• The President embarks on a yacht (called the Presidential Yacht) to review the Indian Naval Fleet. It is comprised of over 60 ships and submarines, and 55 aircraft this year. The yacht will be distinguished by the Ashoka Emblem on her side and will fly the President’s Standard on the Mast.
• Ships from all naval commands and Andaman and Nicobar Command are docked on one of the naval ports for the Presidential Fleet Review (This year in Visakhapatnam). As part of the exercise, the Presidential Yacht sails past the columns of ships anchored in lanes, and accorded the ceremonial salute, one by one.
• The President is also given a 21-gun salute during the review.

About Visakhapatnam Fleet Review:

• President’s Fleet Review is the country’s President taking stock of the Navy’s capability.
• It takes place once under every President, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
• The President is taken on one of the Naval ships, which is called the President’s Yacht, to look at all the ships docked on one of the Naval ports.
• The President’s Yacht this year “is an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sumitra, which lead the Presidential Column. The yacht is distinguished by the Ashoka Emblem on her side and will fly the President’s Standard on the Mast”.
• The idea is to showcase not all the Navy’s ships, but every type of ship and the kind of capabilities it has at that time. The review also includes merchant ships.
• In the current fleet review, which will take place in Vishakhapatnam, President Ram Nath Kovind reviewed over 60 ships and submarines, and 55 aircraft, from the Navy and the Coast Guard.

Naval vessels in 2022 review

• Latest stealth destroyer INS Visakhapatnam
• INS Vela, which is a Kalvari class submarine commissioned into Indian Navy recently.
• Three Shivalik class frigates
• Three Kamorta class ASW Corvettes
• Ships from the Coast Guard, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Shipping Corporation of India.

How many of these reviews have been held?

• There have been 11 President’s Fleet Reviews since Independence.
• The first was conducted in 1953, under Dr Rajendra Prasad. The next one was done not by the President but by the then Defence Minister, Y B Chavan, in 1964.
• Since then, it has been the President reviewing the fleet.
• The last one was done in 2016, under President Pranab Mukherjee.
• The reviews in 2001 and 2016 were International Fleet Reviews, in which some vessels from other countries also participated.