The Indian Navy frigate INS Trishul (Indian Naval Ship) ended a 3-day port call at Alexandria, Egypt, on 17 September 2026, after a passage exercise (PASSEX) with the Egyptian ship ENS Bernees (Egyptian Navy Ship). The Indian Navy announced the conclusion on Sunday, 20 September. “INS Trishul concluded her three-day port call at Alexandria, Egypt, on 17 Sep 2026”. The frigate arrived at Alexandria Naval Base on 14 September. The PASSEX took place before she entered harbour, and the Egyptian Navy ship ENS Al Qadeer escorted her in.
A PASSEX is a short drill held as ships meet at sea, with less planning than a full exercise. The two navies drilled coordinated manoeuvring, communication procedures, and at-sea replenishment approaches, the Ministry said. Replenishment at sea means a warship steams alongside a supply ship to take on fuel and stores without stopping. Ashore, Ambassador Suresh K Reddy of India to Egypt visited the ship and met the crew. The Ministry said he stressed the value of the Indian Navy’s presence in the region.
The commanding officer and crew paid tribute at the Chatby War Memorial in Alexandria. The site holds 12 burials and lists 19 Indian soldiers who died in ships sunk in the Eastern Mediterranean during the two World Wars, the Ministry said. The Indian Embassy said the visit was meant to “further cultivate cooperation between the Indian and Egyptian Navies”. The Navy added that the crew discussed interoperability with Egyptian counterparts.
Trishul is the second Talwar-class frigate. Baltiysky Zavod in St. Petersburg built her, and India commissioned her on 25 June 2003. The class descends from the Russian Krivak III design. The ship is about 3,620 tonnes standard and 4,035 tonnes full load, 124.8 meters long, with a top speed of 30 knots. Range is 4,850 nautical miles at 14 knots but only 1,600 at 30 knots. Listed weapons include Klub-N anti-ship cruise missiles and Shtil-1 medium-range surface-to-air missiles.
Western Naval Command said Trishul and INS Aditya, a fleet tanker, escorted the crude tankers MT Compass and MT Thalatta through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, between Yemen and Djibouti, on 9 and 10 August 2026. The Navy said Trishul called at Djibouti on 6 September. The Tribune’s report on the escort noted that an India-flagged cargo vessel, Faize Noore Oliya, sank after an attack by an explosives-laden boat in the Red Sea off Yemen.
Trishul is not the first Indian frigate at Alexandria this decade. INS Trikand, another Talwar-class ship, visited from 1 to 10 September 2025 for Exercise Bright Star, then called in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. The visit follows a run of military contacts. India and Egypt signed a defence cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) in September 2022 and raised ties to a strategic partnership in 2023. At the 11th Joint Defence Committee meeting in Cairo in April 2026, led on the Indian side by Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) Amitabh Prasad, both sides agreed on a 2026-27 cooperation plan covering maritime security and more complex exercises.
India sent more than 700 Army, Navy and Air Force personnel to Exercise Bright Star in Egypt in 2025, its largest turnout. The fourth Exercise Cyclone, a Special Forces drill, ran in Cairo in April 2026. Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, Chief of the Air Staff, visited Egypt in December 2025 at the invitation of the Egyptian Air Force commander. The Indian Air Force’s Sarang helicopter team, flying the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, was scheduled to perform at the El Alamein International Airshow from 8 to 10 September 2026.
At the April meeting, the Indian military said its defence production tops $20 billion, and its exports reach about $4 billion across more than 100 countries. Both sides agreed to draw up a defence industry plan covering co-development and co-production. Egypt told India in January 2023 that it wanted the Tejas light combat aircraft, radars, and helicopters, The Tribune reported at the time.
A PASSEX is a basic drill, and one exercise proves little about combat readiness. It shows how both crews can communicate and manoeuvre together, which any larger exercise needs first. The 2026-27 plan gives the Indian Navy a reason to return for more complex drills. Egypt also sits on the route Trishul just travelled. Egypt operates the Suez Canal, which links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, so an Indian ship on escort duty off Yemen can reach Egyptian ports within days. For India, Alexandria offers a friendly Mediterranean port for ships that have just worked the Red Sea approaches.