The Indian Navy’s undersea capabilities were boosted with the acquisition of its first indigenously designed and constructed Diving Support Vessel the INS Nistar at Visakhapatnam. 

The 10,000-ton warship can undertake deep sea diving and rescue operations, a capability with select Navies across the globe. It is equipped with state-of-the art diving equipment and can undertake deep sea saturation diving up to a depth of 300 metres. The ship also has a side diving stage for undertaking diving operations up to a depth of 75 metres. It also has a landing deck to embark one 15-ton helicopter. 

The Nistar can also serve as a mother ship for the Indian Navy’s two Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) which were acquired from the UK in 2019. The vessel can also rescue and evacuate personnel, in case of an emergency in a submarine underwater. The ship is equipped with a combination of Remotely Operated Vehicles to undertake Diver Monitoring and Salvage Operations up to a depth of 1000 m.

The Nistar is the first of two ships ordered by the Indian Navy from the Hindustan shipyard in 2018 for Rs 2,392crore. A second ship, the Nipun, is expected to join the navy next year. The two vessels are meant to cater to India’s growing submarine fleet— 17 conventional submarines and four nuclear powered submarines. 

The Nistar is named for an older submarine rescue vessel acquired from the Soviet Union in 1969. The  old INS Nistar was used to locate the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi which exploded and sank off Visakhapatnam during the 1971. She served the navy until her decommissioning in 1989. 

Deepak Bhadana

Over the past decade, Deepak Bhadana has built expertise in multimedia storytelling, with a focus on military conflicts, insurgencies, international relations, the defence industry, and occasionally, wildlife and environmental issues.