INS Nistar Commissioned: India’s First Indigenous Diving Support Vessel Enhances Naval Rescue Capabilities.
Defence
On 18 July 2025, INS Nistar, India’s first indigenously designed and constructed Diving Support Vessel (DSV), was commissioned into service at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam. The commissioning was presided over by Sanjay Seth, Minister of State for Defence, and attended by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of Naval Staff.
- Built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), INS Nistar embodies over 80% indigenous content, involving more than 120 Indian MSMEs in its design and construction. This achievement aligns with the Government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives to enhance national defense manufacturing capacity.
- At approximately 118 metres in length, 22 metres beam, and displacing close to 10,000 tonnes, INS Nistar can conduct saturation diving up to 300 metres and support complex submarine rescue missions using its specialized diving complex, ROVs, side-scan sonar, and a 15-tonne subsea crane.
- Equipped to serve as a “Mother Ship” for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), INS Nistar includes a dynamic positioning system (DP‑II), hyperbaric medical facilities, an operating theatre, ICU, and eight‑bed hospital, enabling extended deep‑sea missions and emergency medical support.
Main Point :- (i) Defence MoS Sanjay Seth emphasized INS Nistar’s strategic role in reinforcing India as a "First Responder" and “Preferred Security Partner" in the Indian Ocean Region. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Tripathi lauded it as not just a technological asset, but a crucial operational enabler for regional submarine‑rescue collaboration.
(ii) The vessel adopts the name of its 1971 predecessor, INS Nistar, which played a key role in locating the Pakistani submarine Ghazi during the Indo‑Pakistan War. The maiden crew of the earlier ship attended the commissioning, linking past valor to future readiness.
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