KOLKATA: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, a Navratna Defence PSU under the Ministry of Defence, launched Sagar Manthan, an Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, on Wednesday in Kolkata.
This is the first ORV of its kind to be built in India. The launch took place just five months after the vessel’s keel laying, highlighting GRSE’s ability to maintain project schedules.
Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated GRSE and NCPOR on the achievement and highlighted the vessel’s role in India’s deep-ocean research after its delivery in 2028. Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, attended the launch as guest of honour.
GRSE CMD Cmde P R Hari said the shipyard is expanding its expertise beyond warship building to specialised vessels. GRSE is also building a Marine Acoustic Research Vessel for the Ministry of Defence and two Coastal Research Vessels.
The 89.5-metre-long, 18.8-metre-wide ORV will have a gross tonnage of 5,900 tonnes and a speed of 14 knots. It will support deep-ocean research, including multibeam and seismic surveys to depths of up to 6 km, CTD profiling, water and seabed sampling, mooring and data-buoy operations, meteorological observations, and ocean-current measurements. The vessel will also provide facilities for onboard scientific analysis, data processing, and training of scientists and technicians.
GRSE has nearly four decades of experience in building survey vessels for the Indian Navy. It previously built the Marine Acoustic Research Vessel INS Sagardhwani, which was delivered to NPOL in 1994 and remains in service. GRSE is now building a new Marine Acoustic Research Vessel for NPOL, which will be named Sagar Spandan. (IANS)
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