Signing you in

Here’s how this specialised ship functions and why it’s crucial to submarine operations.

A DSV is essentially a specialised platform that allows a navy to sustain complex underwater operations for extended periods, particularly in deep and challenging waters. Naval operations often require divers and specialised teams to inspect, repair, recover, or intervene around ships, submarines, and other underwater assets. A DSV provides the diving systems, equipment, medical facilities, and operational support needed for such missions, reducing dependence on shore-based facilities, and enabling the Navy to respond quickly to underwater contingencies.

In addition to operating submarines to secure our waters, the Indian Navy undertakes diving operations in the Indian Ocean Region. This needs extensive diving operations for activities such as submarine rescue, underwater inspection, testing or salvage, and recovery of objects, ships, or aircraft lost at sea. As these activities involve diving operations with divers remaining underwater for prolonged durations, it requires a suitable platform for their launch and recovery, as well as for carriage of related tools and equipment.

In the past, the Indian Navy operated Russian-origin submarine rescue vessels and relied on a mix of shore facilities along with specialised diving units and suitably equipped naval vessels. But these lacked the multidomain operational capabilities and ability of long deployments at sea.

In September 2018, a contract was signed by the Indian Navy with Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Vishakhapatnam, for construction of two DSVs. The first of the two vessels, INS Nistar, was commissioned in July last year.

Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff, said at the commissioning ceremony of INS Nipun: “As a dedicated diving support and submarine rescue vessel, Nipun adds specialised capability to support complex underwater operations and respond to emergencies in one of the most demanding and mysterious environments known to the world. True to her name, this 9,000-tonne vessel brings together a range of capabilities possessed only by a handful of Navies.”

INS Nipun draws her name from Sanskrit, signifying “one who is adept, capable, and well versed in a particular discipline”. True to the name, the ship is highly specialised and is capable of undertaking deep-sea dive operations and rescue operations at sea, the Navy said. According to the Navy, the crest has a whale symbolising sustained deep-sea endurance and a modern diving helmet representing the diver at the core of the mission.

The contract for procurement of two sets of non-tethered DSRV, capable of effecting submarine rescue up to depths of 650 metres, has been concluded with M/s James Fisher Defence, UK in March 2016. The first DSRV was delivered at Mumbai in April 2018 and the second DSRV at Visakhapatnam in 2019.

“The ship incorporates modern systems for navigation, platform management and precise station keeping, complemented by specialised facilities for diving, underwater intervention and medical support. These capabilities enable Nipun to function as an integrated platform for complex operations beneath the surface,” the Navy said.

The capability also has a wider strategic dimension. DSVs allow the Navy to maintain an underwater presence for extended periods, conduct interventions and recover objects in difficult conditions, and support search-and-rescue missions without being tied to shore facilities.

For India, this is significant as underwater capabilities become increasingly important to maritime security. “The induction of indigenous DSVs also means the Navy is building and sustaining specialised expertise and equipment domestically, while strengthening its ability to provide submarine rescue assistance to regional partners. INS Nistar’s participation in Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 demonstrated this wider role, including international submarine-rescue operations and interoperability with other navies,” said the retired officer.