ICGS Shaunak Sails for Perth With Quad Officers Under At-Sea Observer Mission

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Shaunak has sailed from Chennai for Perth, Australia, carrying officers from all four Quad countries — India, Australia, Japan and the United States — under the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission.

The deployment marks a practical expansion of maritime cooperation among the four Indo-Pacific partners, with officers from each country embarking together on an Indian Coast Guard vessel for professional exchanges, shipboard familiarisation and operational interaction.

Six Quad Sea Riders Embark on ICGS Shaunak

According to the Ministry of Defence, six Sea Riders are participating in the mission aboard ICGS Shaunak.

The group includes two officers from India, two from Japan, one from Australia and one from the United States.

During the voyage, the officers are expected to participate in onboard activities and professional exchanges designed to improve interoperability, coordination and mutual understanding among the maritime agencies of the four Quad countries.

The deployment is not a combat mission. Its purpose is to expose participating officers to each other’s operating procedures, shipboard practices and maritime-security approaches.

Mission Connects Chennai and Perth

ICGS Shaunak departed from Chennai and is sailing towards Perth, adding an Indian Coast Guard platform to the growing network of maritime cooperation among Quad partners.

The deployment reflects the expanding role of coast guards and maritime law-enforcement agencies in the Indo-Pacific, where security challenges include illegal fishing, trafficking, maritime pollution, search and rescue, piracy and disaster response.

Such missions complement traditional naval exercises by focusing on practical cooperation in areas that affect civilian shipping and maritime governance.

Quad-at-Sea Initiative Builds on Earlier Mission

The 2026 deployment builds on the first Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, conducted in June 2025.

During that mission, officers from India, Japan, Australia and the United States embarked aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton.

The current deployment aboard ICGS Shaunak therefore represents a continuation of the same framework, with India now providing the host platform.

The transition from a US Coast Guard vessel in 2025 to an Indian Coast Guard vessel in 2026 also demonstrates the rotational nature of the initiative and the intention to build familiarity across different maritime services.

Indian Coast Guard Takes a Larger Indo-Pacific Role

The Indian Coast Guard has steadily expanded its international engagement through overseas deployments, bilateral exercises, port visits and cooperation agreements.

Its responsibilities extend beyond coastal patrol to include maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, pollution response, protection of offshore assets and support for regional maritime security.

ICGS Shaunak itself has previously undertaken overseas deployments, including visits to Singapore, Japan and Indonesia, highlighting its role in India’s international coast guard diplomacy.

Such deployments allow the Indian Coast Guard to build working relationships with foreign agencies while demonstrating India’s capacity to contribute to maritime stability across the wider Indo-Pacific.

Why Coast Guard Cooperation Matters

Naval cooperation often receives greater attention, but coast guard collaboration is increasingly important in the Indo-Pacific.

Many of the region’s most frequent maritime challenges do not involve conventional warfare. They include illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, narcotics trafficking, smuggling, maritime accidents, environmental incidents and humanitarian emergencies.

These problems require rapid information sharing and coordination between maritime agencies.

Embedding officers from partner countries aboard each other’s vessels helps build familiarity before a real-world crisis occurs.

Quad Maritime Cooperation Moves Beyond Dialogue

The Quad has traditionally been associated with diplomatic consultations and policy coordination, but maritime cooperation has gradually become more operational.

The Quad-at-Sea Observer Mission provides a practical mechanism through which maritime personnel can work together in a real shipboard environment rather than only through meetings or seminars.

This gives the initiative value at the operational level, where differences in procedures, communications and command systems can otherwise complicate multinational cooperation.

The deployment also supports the Quad’s stated interest in maintaining a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific maritime order.

India Uses Maritime Partnerships to Strengthen Regional Presence

India occupies a central geographical position in the Indian Ocean, making maritime cooperation with Australia, Japan and the United States strategically important.

Commercial shipping routes linking the Gulf, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific pass through waters close to India.

The Indian Coast Guard therefore plays an increasingly important role not only in protecting India’s coastline but also in contributing to broader regional maritime-security networks.

The voyage of ICGS Shaunak to Perth strengthens this role by placing Indian maritime personnel and their Quad counterparts together on a common platform.

A Practical Step in Quad Maritime Cooperation

The significance of the ICGS Shaunak deployment lies in its operational simplicity.

Rather than creating a new command structure or large exercise, the mission allows officers from four countries to live and work together aboard a single ship, observe procedures and build professional relationships.

Such exchanges can improve future coordination during search-and-rescue operations, maritime-security incidents and humanitarian emergencies.

The ICGS Shaunak Quad-at-Sea mission therefore represents another step in moving Quad maritime cooperation from strategic dialogue towards practical interaction among the agencies responsible for maintaining security and safety at sea.

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References

Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence — Official release on ICGS Shaunak sailing from Chennai for Perth under the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, 25 September 2026.

Indian Coast Guard — Official overseas deployment records for ICGS Shaunak and other Indian Coast Guard vessels. Indian Coast Guard

Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence — Official information on the first Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission aboard USCGC Stratton in June 2025.

Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — Quad Foreign Ministers’ statements on maritime cooperation and Indo-Pacific engagement.

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