Indian Navy Gets First Indigenous Diving Support Vessel 'Nistar'—What Makes It Special

The first indigenously designed and constructed Diving Support Vessel, 'Nistar', was delivered by Hindustan Shipyard Limited to the Indian Navy on Tuesday (8 July) at Visakhapatnam.

"The ship is highly specialised and can undertake Deep Sea Diving and Rescue Operations – a capability with select Navies across the globe," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The ship’s name, ‘Nistar’, originates from Sanskrit and means liberation, rescue or salvation, the ministry added.

Designed and built as per classification rules of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), the ship is installed with state-of-the-art Diving Equipment and has the capability to undertake Deep Sea Saturation Diving up to 300 m depth.

The ship, measuring 118 m with a tonnage of nearly 10,000 tonne, also has a Side Diving Stage for undertaking diving operations up to 75 m depth.

The ship will also serve as the ‘Mother Ship’ for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), to 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 1,000 m.

"The delivery of Nistar, with nearly 75 per cent indigenous content, is yet another milestone in the Indian Navy’s quest for indigenous construction and is in line with the GoI’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the Make in India campaign," the ministry said.

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