INS Nistar

News: The Indian Navy is set to commission its first indigenously designed Diving Support Vessel (DSV) INS Nistar at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on July 18.

About INS Nistar

• It is India’s first indigenous Diving Support Vessel (DSV).
• Built by: The ship has been indigenously designed and constructed by state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited.
• It is the first ship of two-member class of DSVs, the second being Nipun.
• Name: The name of the ship ‘Nistar’ in Sanskrit translates to rendering rescue.
• Emblem: An ‘anchor’ which traditionally symbolises reliability and faith, and a ‘dolphin’ regarded as a seafarer’s friend and a harbinger of fair weather.
• Motto: Surakshita Yatharthta Shauryam (Deliverance with Precision and Bravery)
• Features
  • It has a length of approximately 120 metres and displacement of more than 10,000 tonnes.
  • Indegenously built: A total of 120 MSMEs have participated in the construction of this vessel, achieving more than 80 per cent indigenous content.
  • Equipments:
    • It is the ‘Mother Ship’ for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV).
    • Its onboard diving complex includes both air and saturation diving systems, along with underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Side Scan SONAR.
  • Functions: These ships will be deployed for deep sea diving and submarine rescue operations.
    • It will be capable of conducting search and rescue operations and carrying out helicopter operations at sea.
• Earlier version
  • The erstwhile INS Nistar was acquired by the Indian Navy from the erstwhile USSR in 1969 and was commissioned in 1971.
    • It was decommissioned in 1989.