Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jul 11: In a major milestone for India’s push toward defence self-reliance, the Indian Navy will commission its latest Diving Support Vessel (DSV), INS Nistar, at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on July 18. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the commissioning ceremony, marking the formal induction of this advanced submarine rescue platform.
Built entirely in India by Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, INS Nistar is a state-of-the-art vessel designed to support deep-sea diving and submarine rescue missions. It will join the Navy’s Eastern Naval Command, becoming a crucial asset in underwater operations.
Reflecting India’s focus on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, over 80% of the vessel is indigenous, involving contributions from 120 MSMEs. A Navy spokesperson said the project is aligned with the Navy’s long-term vision of developing complex, homegrown maritime systems under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The vessel revives the legacy of an earlier ship by the same name — the original Nistar, a Soviet-era submarine rescue ship inducted in 1971, which served the Navy for over two decades in underwater rescue missions.
Received by the Navy on July 8, the new Nistar is built to Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) standards and highlights the growing sophistication of India’s defence engineering capabilities. Measuring 118 metres in length and weighing nearly 10,000 tonnes, the ship features advanced deep-diving systems, enabling saturation diving up to 300 metres and missions up to 75 metres using a side diving stage.
Its capabilities go beyond rescue — with over 60 days of endurance at sea, a 15-ton subsea crane, and the ability to support helicopter operations, Nistar is designed to be a highly versatile platform. Most critically, it will act as the mother ship for the Navy’s Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), offering swift personnel evacuation and submarine rescue in underwater emergencies.
Nistar also boasts Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) capable of salvage and diver monitoring operations up to 1,000 metres below sea level, a rare capability possessed by only a few navies around the world.
The induction of INS Nistar is expected to significantly strengthen India’s sub-surface capabilities, offering both strategic depth and humanitarian rescue capacity — all while reinforcing the country’s expanding indigenous defence ecosystem.