Two Next-Gen Diving Support Vessels Being Built For The Indian Navy To Be Launched At Visakhapatnam On Thursday
Two Diving Support Vessels (DSVs) that enhance submarine support operations and are currently being built by the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) for India’s Navy are scheduled to be officially launched on Thursday at Visakhapatnam.
Admiral R Hari Kumar, the Chief of the Naval Staff, will be the chief guest at the ceremony. The vessels will be launched at the hands of Navy Welfare and Wellness Association (NWWA) president Kala Hari Kumar, who’d be doing the traditional honour and naming them, mentioned relevant officials on Wednesday.
Four significant ceremonial occasions – keel laying, commissioning, launching, and decommissioning — exist in any vessel’s life.
A vessel is said to be first launched when transferred from the building site into the waters.
Officials said these DSVs are first-of-their-kind vessels designed and indigenously built at the HSL for India’s Navy. The plates measure 118.4 meters in length, 22.8 meters at their broadest point, and are reported to have a displacement of approximately 9,350 tonnes.
The contract between the HSL and the Indian Navy was signed earlier in 2018 (September).
The DSVs are equipped with a Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) that significantly enhances the submarine rescue abilities.
Officials said that besides operating submarines to secure the territorial waters, India’s Navy also undertakes essential diving operations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). They aim to facilitate activities like submarine rescue, testing or salvage and recovery of objects, underwater inspection, and ship or aircraft loss at sea.
As such activities typically involve diving operations with divers staying underwater for long durations, the tasks need appropriate platforms for the introduction and recovery with the carriage of related tools and other equipment.
The Navy has said that these vessels will be capable of sustained patrolling, carrying out rescue and search operations, and directing helicopter operations on the high seas.
With about 80% of indigenous content, the Navy stated that the DSV assignment had generated significant local employment opportunities and promoted indigenization that would aid in enhancing the Indian economy.
Officials mentioned that while a submarine is a massive strategic asset, it’s also vulnerable to action damages, needing extensive diving to undertake search and rescue operations that demand a credible and well-equipped platform. The induction of the DSVs that boast DSRV would serve as the vital force behind enhancing the Indian Navy’s capabilities and the reach of submarine-rescue-specific operations within the IOR.
References: Indian Express, Financial Express
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