SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The rescue and salvage ship USS Safeguard began the U.S. Navy’s first salvage exercise ever with the Indian navy Monday in waters near Cochin, on India’s west coast.

A variety of training, at sea and in port, is scheduled during the next two weeks, a Navy news report stated. About 200 U.S. Navy sailors are participating.

Lectures, demonstrations and a tour of an Indian navy diving facility are planned in port. Training at sea includes the salvage of a training pontoon, the report stated, as well as other cooperative scenarios, including salvage of a sunken aircraft near the Malabar Coast.

Liberty is planned in Cochin, one of India’s more developed industrial and commercial cities. Friendship events and service projects are scheduled, the report stated.

The Safeguard operates from Sasebo Naval Base in southern Japan.

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