Observers from 27 maritime nations will witness the exercise, apart from representatives of the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board from central and state departments.

The biennial search and rescue exercise by ships and aircraft from the Indian and Japanese Coast Guards, to be witnessed by observers from 27 maritime nations, will get underway here tomorrow.

The exercise, the eighth such in the series of 'National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise', will see ships and aircraft of Coast Guards from India and Japan, the Indian Navy and Air Force and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) taking part, an official release said.

The two-day event will comprise a workshop on January 16 and search and rescue operations on January 17 in Bay of Bengal.

Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh, along with Japanese Commandant Admiral Satoshi Nakajima, will jointly review the search and rescue operations.

Observers from 27 maritime nations will witness the exercise, apart from representatives of the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board from central and state departments.