On 11 November 2026 the Ministry of Defence announced that the Indian Navy will coordinate the fifth edition of the Pan-India Coastal Defence Exercise 'Sea Vigil-26'. It runs from 11 to 19 November 2026, with the Navy as the lead agency. The Ministry says it will span the entire coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India and involve every coastal state and Union Territory, along with fishing and coastal communities.
The exercise matters beyond its dates. It is the one occasion when the whole of India's coastal security machinery, from a village fish-landing centre to a frigate at sea, is tested together and graded. In this article we look at how Sea Vigil works, how it has grown since 2019, the layers of security it checks, and the numbers an examiner could ask.
Sea Vigil-26 at a glance
| Item | Detail (PIB release of 11 November 2026) |
|---|---|
| Exercise | Sea Vigil-26, fifth pan-India coastal defence exercise |
| Dates | 11 to 19 November 2026 |
| Lead agency | Indian Navy |
| Phase 1 | Coastal Defence and Security Readiness Evaluation (CDSRE), 11 to 17 November |
| Phase 2 | Sea Phase, 18 and 19 November |
| Area | The entire coastline and EEZ; all coastal States and UTs |
| Assets | Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Coastal Security Police, Customs and other maritime agencies |
| Facilitating ministries | Defence; Home Affairs; Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Petroleum and Natural Gas; Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| Link | A build-up to TROPEX, the Navy's biennial theatre exercise |
Coastal defence versus coastal security
The exercise is called a coastal defence exercise, and the two terms are not the same.
- Coastal security is the everyday job of watching the coast: patrols, checking boats, registering fishermen, policing landing points, stopping smuggling and infiltration. The Coast Guard and the marine police do most of it.
- Coastal defence is the larger frame. It covers coastal security as a sub-set, together with the Navy's defence of the sea approaches in a crisis.
Sea Vigil is designed to activate the coastal security apparatus across India and then assess the overarching coastal defence mechanism. In plain words, it switches on every layer at once to see whether they work together, which no state-level drill can show.
State and agency drills do exist. The Coast Guard runs the coastal security exercise Sagar Kavach and the drill Sajag, and the coastal police take part in both. The PIB note on Sagar Kavach in November 2025 placed it along the Maharashtra and Goa coastline. Those are regional and run by the Coast Guard. Sea Vigil is national and is coordinated by the Navy.
| Exercise | Run by | Scale | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Vigil | Indian Navy | Whole coastline and EEZ, all States and UTs | Coastal defence and security together, and the readiness of every stakeholder |
| Sagar Kavach / Sajag | Indian Coast Guard | Regional (for example Maharashtra and Goa) | Coordination of the Coast Guard, marine police and other agencies |
| TROPEX | Indian Navy | Whole Indian Ocean theatre, every two years | Operational readiness for war at sea |
PIB puts the relationship simply: Sea Vigil and TROPEX together address the entire spectrum of maritime security challenges, from coastal defence to operations on the high seas. Sea Vigil is the build-up, and TROPEX is the capstone. Our Defence GK page on fleet operations explains TROPEX, which was last held from January to March 2025.
Why 26/11 is the starting point
The exercise exists because of 26 November 2008. Ten terrorists reached Mumbai by sea, travelling in a hijacked fishing boat and landing in small craft, and the attack that followed showed how thin the watch over India's waters was. PIB says plainly that the entire coastal security set-up was reorganised after that attack. Sea Vigil was conceptualised in 2018, ten years later, to validate the measures put in place since. The first edition came in January 2019.
The layers that Sea Vigil tests
Our earlier report on the Bureau of Port Security set out the three-tier grid. Here we look at it from the point of view of the exercise, since each layer is a thing that gets inspected.
1. The Navy. The Navy has the overall responsibility for maritime security, coastal and offshore. Its assets and its Joint Operations Centres anchor the grid. PIB mentions the Joint Operations Centre (East) at Visakhapatnam as the nodal hub for coastal security operations on that coast. The Navy also runs the Sagar Prahari Bal, which, with fast intercept craft and immediate support vessels, guards the offshore development area.
2. The Indian Coast Guard. The ICG is the authority for coastal security in the territorial waters, including the areas patrolled by the coastal police. It was raised on 1 February 1977 as an interim force, and the Coast Guard Act, 1978 (dated 18 August 1978) constituted it formally as an armed force of the Union under the Ministry of Defence. In the ten years to 2025, PIB records, it conducted 3,00,296 boarding operations and 153 coastal security exercises, and seized 179 boats, arresting 1,683 people for illegal entry. It deploys 18 to 20 ships, 30 to 35 craft and 10 to 12 aircraft every day, and it runs a toll-free number, 1554, for reporting incidents at sea. More on the force is on our Defence GK page on the Coast Guard.
3. The marine police. The innermost layer belongs to the coastal states and Union Territories. "Police" and "public order" are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule, so this layer is run by the states, and the Centre supports it. The vehicle is the Coastal Security Scheme, which began in 2005 and ran in two phases. Under it 204 coastal police stations have been made operational, with boats, jetties, vehicles and check-posts. The National Academy of Coastal Policing at Devbhoomi Dwarka, Gujarat trains their staff, and the Coast Guard has run Joint Coastal Patrols with the marine police since August 2020.
4. Everyone else. The grid also depends on Customs, ports, fisheries departments, the CISF and BSF, oil-handling agencies and the fishing community. A Common Communication Plan (COMPLAN) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs lists 15 agencies that coordinate on coastal security. Standard Operating Procedures for each state spell out who does what in a crisis.
5. The technology layer. Surveillance runs through the Coastal Surveillance Network of radar stations, the Automatic Identification System and the National Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (NC3I) network. Its hub is the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) at Gurugram, which was tested in Sea Vigil-22.
Memory line. Navy for the outer seas and overall responsibility, Coast Guard for the territorial waters, marine police for the shallows and the shore, and Sea Vigil to test all three at once.
Five editions, one pattern
| Edition | When | Record in PIB releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | January 2019 | The inaugural pan-India exercise, conducted by the Navy and Coast Guard |
| 2nd | 12–13 January 2021 | Described as biennial; all 13 coastal States and UTs; a build-up to TROPEX |
| 3rd | 15–16 November 2022 | More than 17 agencies; 500+ surface assets; over 800 NCC cadets; NC3I and IMAC validated; State Police, Marine Commandos and NSG exercised against maritime terrorism |
| 4th | 20–21 November 2024 | 6 ministries, 21 organisations; 550+ surface assets, 60 air sorties; 950+ critical coastal locations audited; the Army and Air Force took part |
| 5th | 11–19 November 2026 | CDSRE phase of 11–17 Nov, then a Sea Phase of 18–19 Nov |
Two things change over time. The scale grows, from a two-day drill to a nine-day exercise that begins with a week-long audit. And the focus deepens. The 2024 edition stressed the security of vital maritime assets such as oil rigs, Single Point Moorings, cable landing stations, non-major ports and nuclear installations along the coast. The Air Force placed air defence systems on offshore platforms, and the exercise rehearsed a simulated hijacking of a merchant ship and the rerouting of Indian vessels. The National Security Council Secretariat officials joined the audit teams for the first time that year.
The audit before the drill
The phase most students skip is the one that gives the exercise its teeth. In CDSRE, the naval Officers-in-Charge of the coastal states audit the coastal defence and security infrastructure, teams of Navy, Coast Guard, Customs, Fisheries and marine police personnel inspect real sites, and the findings feed the sea phase. In 2024 the audit covered over 950 critical locations: fish landing centres, lighthouses, major and non-major ports, coastal police stations, offshore assets and others. Sea Vigil-26 follows the same two-part design, with the audit running from 11 to 17 November and the Sea Phase on 18 and 19 November.
The numbers behind a "coastline-wide" exercise
Two figures keep appearing in Sea Vigil releases, and they changed between editions.
- Coastline length. The 2021 and 2022 releases say 7,516 km. The 2024 release says 11,098 km. India did not gain land. The country's official coastline length was re-measured on finer-scale maps and revised to about 11,098.81 km, a well-known example of the "coastline paradox", where a finer ruler picks up more inlets and creeks and gives a longer coast. Questions may still use 7,516 km, so know both and read the question's date.
- Exclusive Economic Zone. The 2024 release gives the EEZ as about 2.4 million sq km. Other official sources, including the Coast Guard's own briefings, quote a figure of about 2 million sq km. Treat the number as source-dependent, and in the exam prefer the definition: the EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, and in it the coastal state has sovereign rights over resources, but not over navigation.
What the Sea Phase is likely to show
The release gives few operational details for the Sea Phase. From earlier editions, it normally includes:
- Joint patrolling and surveillance by Navy and Coast Guard ships and aircraft along the whole coast.
- Protection drills for ports and offshore installations, and checks on crisis-management plans.
- Responses to maritime terrorism, using Marine Commandos, the NSG and state police teams.
- Community participation, with fishermen, NCC cadets and Bharat Scouts and Guides taking duties.
- Checks on the communication chain, from a village alert to the national command network.
The community element is not a courtesy. Fishermen are usually the first to notice a strange boat, and raising their awareness is one of the declared aims.
Why it matters
- Trade. A very large share of India's trade by volume moves by sea, so a port that fails is an economic emergency, not only a security one.
- Threat mix. The threats go beyond terrorism and include smuggling, narcotics, illegal migration, poaching and attacks on offshore assets.
- Jointness. Sea Vigil is a rare chance to see the Navy, Army, Air Force, paramilitary forces, police and civil departments run one plan. In a defence officer's career, that habit of joint working is the real lesson.
- Credibility. Because the exercise has been repeated every one to two years since 2019, it works as a report card: each edition shows whether the gaps found in the last one were closed.
🔑 Revision block
The news. The Navy coordinates the 5th Sea Vigil (Pan-India Coastal Defence Exercise), 11–19 Nov 2026: CDSRE 11–17 Nov, Sea Phase 18–19 Nov. All coastal States and UTs; Navy, ICG, Coastal Security Police, Customs. Ministries: Defence, Home, Ports, Petroleum, Fisheries.
Origin. Conceptualised 2018 to validate post-26/11 measures. Editions: Jan 2019, Jan 2021, Nov 2022, Nov 2024, Nov 2026. Build-up to TROPEX (biennial; last Jan–Mar 2025).
Layers. Navy: overall maritime security. ICG: territorial waters (raised 1 Feb 1977; Act 1978; MoD). Marine police: State subject; Coastal Security Scheme (2005); 204 coastal police stations. NC3I / IMAC Gurugram. COMPLAN (MHA): 15 agencies.
Numbers. Coastline 7,516 km (2021–22 releases) → 11,098 km (2024 release; re-measured). EEZ 200 nm. Sea Vigil-24: 6 ministries, 21 agencies, 550+ assets, 60 sorties, 950+ locations; NSCS first time. Sea Vigil-22: 500+ assets, 800+ NCC cadets.
Do not confuse. Sagar Kavach / Sajag: Coast Guard, regional. Sea Vigil: Navy, national. TROPEX: Navy, theatre-level, high seas.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. Which agency is the lead agency coordinating Sea Vigil-26?
(a) Indian Navy
(b) Indian Coast Guard
(c) Ministry of Home Affairs
(d) National Security Council Secretariat
→ (a)
PIB says the exercise is coordinated by the Indian Navy as the lead agency. The Coast Guard, Customs and others take part, and the Home Ministry facilitates.
Q2. Sea Vigil-26 will be held in two phases. They are:
(a) A Sea Phase followed by a Harbour Phase
(b) The Coastal Defence and Security Readiness Evaluation, followed by a Sea Phase
(c) A Planning Phase followed by a Cyber Phase
(d) A Land Phase followed by an Air Phase
→ (b)
The CDSRE runs from 11 to 17 November and the Sea Phase on 18 and 19 November 2026.
Q3. Consider the following statements about Exercise Sea Vigil:
1. It was conceptualised in 2018 to validate coastal security measures taken after the 26/11 attacks.
2. It is a build-up to the Navy's biennial theatre-level exercise TROPEX.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (c)
Both statements come directly from PIB. TROPEX is held every two years.
Q4. The first edition of Sea Vigil was held in:
(a) November 2008
(b) January 2015
(c) November 2018
(d) January 2019
→ (d)
The concept was developed in 2018, but the inaugural exercise took place in January 2019. The second edition followed in January 2021.
Q5. Which of the following is the authority for coastal security in India's territorial waters, including areas patrolled by the coastal police?
(a) Indian Coast Guard
(b) Central Industrial Security Force
(c) Border Security Force
(d) Directorate General of Shipping
→ (a)
The Indian Coast Guard, constituted under the Coast Guard Act, 1978, has this role. The CISF guards ports and other installations, and the DG Shipping regulates merchant shipping.
Q6. Which hub at Gurugram fuses surveillance inputs from the Navy, Coast Guard and other agencies into a single maritime picture?
(a) National Maritime Foundation
(b) Joint Operations Centre (West)
(c) Naval Dockyard Gurugram
(d) Information Management and Analysis Centre
→ (d)
The IMAC at Gurugram is the hub of the NC3I network. It was validated in Sea Vigil-22 in November 2022.
Q7. Under the Constitution, "police" is a subject in the:
(a) Union List
(b) State List
(c) Concurrent List
(d) None of the lists; it is a residuary subject
→ (b)
Police and public order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule. This is why the marine police are run by the coastal states, with central help under the Coastal Security Scheme.
Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. The Sea Vigil releases of 2021 and 2022 gave the length of India's coastline as 7,516 km.
2. The Sea Vigil-24 release gave the revised figure of 11,098 km.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (c)
Both are in the PIB releases. The longer figure comes from re-measuring the coast on finer-scale maps rather than from new land.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Defence and internal-security questions on the coast appear in three common forms.
The first is who is responsible for what: Navy, Coast Guard, marine police and Customs, and which layer covers which waters. Sea Vigil is the natural current-affairs hook for this, and a statement-type question like Q3 is typical.
The second is dates and numbers: the year of the Coast Guard Act, the year Coast Guard Day falls on, the coastline length, the limits of the territorial sea (12 nm), the contiguous zone (24 nm) and the EEZ (200 nm). Learn the three limits as a set.
The third is exercise identification: which exercise belongs to which service and partner, and which is national, regional or multinational. This cycle's fresh hooks are the fifth Sea Vigil, its two-phase structure and its link to TROPEX.
Preparing for NDA? Coastal security, maritime zones and the roles of the three layers are high-yield defence GK and strong SSB talking points on responsibility and teamwork. Revise them in our NDA study material, follow the daily NDA current affairs, and learn with serving-officer faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
Source: PIB / Ministry of Defence, "Indian Navy to coordinate fifth edition of Pan-India Coastal Defence Exercise 'Sea Vigil-26'", 11 November 2026. Earlier editions from PIB releases of 11 and 14 January 2021, 14 and 17 November 2022, and 13 and 22 November 2024. Coastal security measures from PIB releases of 13 March 2023, 17 December 2024 and 4 April 2025. The revised coastline figure of 11,098 km from the 2024 Sea Vigil release, with the method from published reports.
✍️ Written by Col Vijayant Thakur — Veteran, Indian Army; SSB & defence-studies faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk.