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Indian Navy's Dominance in the Northern Arabian Sea during Operation Sindoor

Saturday, May 16, 2026
5 min read
Indian Navy's Dominance in the Northern Arabian Sea during Operation Sindoor

Even though nothing really kicked off in terms of actual fighting from the sea during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Navy had already established such a grip in the Northern Arabian Sea. It was dominance , plain and simple. Pakistani naval assets just stayed put, stuck inside their harbors.

A year later, that’s when things started shifting. The Commanding Officer of INS Chennai finally opened up about the instructions they got from the top leadership concerning how they were deployed during Op Sindoor. It changed everything. INS Chennai was right there on the front line, moments away from launching something big. And the CO, he got that gallantry recognition for his role.

Captain Suraj J Rebeira, talking to CNN-News18 on board the ship, he said the Navy just "dominated the seas." Not just the surface. Air. Subsurface. Everything.

"We were able to push the enemy back," he put it. "We made them stay back in their harbors."

It wasn't just the Navy moving. The Air Force and the Army were visibly involved too, obviously. But the Navy was the heavy hitter , leading this massive Carrier Battle Group with INS Vikrant in that stretch of water.

Rebeira mentioned that the frontline warships had already been handed very specific orders. Precise. Unambiguous. It gave them total freedom to act out there. It didn't matter if they were with the big Carrier Group or just a surface action team. There was no doubt about what they were supposed to do.

INS Chennai itself, that Kolkata-class destroyer, equipped with BrahMos missiles and all that surveillance gear, stayed put. It was part of that forward posture.

The real weight of the statement came when he talked about the strategy. He described the Northern Arabian Sea itself. It’s one of the most sensitive spots globally. Think about the energy routes, the trade lanes running through there.

"The choke points that run the economy of the world," he said. "They lie in the Northern Arabian Sea. Hormuz, the Gulf of Aden. The navy that controls this area? That's the one that calls the shots."

It’s that kind of strategic pressure you feel when you’re deployed there.

Recalling the atmosphere, he spoke about one early morning. A humid morning. Light moisture on the deck. The stars were sharp. But there was this absolute professionalism. A deep resolve in every single crew member’s eyes. That’s what gave him the confidence that whatever they were tasked with, it would happen. One hundred percent.

He also hammered home the jointness . It’s not a single force thing. There is no war that ever succeeds without all three forces working together. In Sindoor, it was that careful handling. The synergy between the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. That’s how they managed it. It felt necessary.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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