Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Nistar'' class is a series of two
diving support vessel A diving support vessel is a ship that is used as a floating base for professional diving projects. Basic requirements are the ability to keep station accurately and reliably throughout a diving operation, often in close proximity to drilling or ...
s being built by
Hindustan Shipyard Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is a public sector undertaking shipyard located in Visakhapatnam, on the east coast of India. HSL is a major shipyard in India, with a capacity to manufacture vessels up to 80,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT). The s ...
(HSL) for the
Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
. The deal was signed on 20 September 2018 with the delivery of the ships is scheduled to commence from July 2023. The primary role of the vessels to support the Indian Navy's submarine fleet and meet various operational requirements such as
submarine rescue Submarine rescue is the process of locating a sunk submarine with survivors on board, and bringing the survivors to safety. This may be done by recovering the vessel to the surface first, or by transferring the trapped personnel to a rescue bell o ...
,
deep sea diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...
operations, sustained patrolling, non combatant evacuation operations and
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
(SAR). The induction of the vessels helps the Indian Navy to prioritize submarine operations in the
Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
.


History

The ''Nistar''-class project is a series of two
diving support vessel A diving support vessel is a ship that is used as a floating base for professional diving projects. Basic requirements are the ability to keep station accurately and reliably throughout a diving operation, often in close proximity to drilling or ...
s being built to support
Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
's expanding submarine fleet. These ships will act as a
mother ship A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...
to the recently acquired
deep-submergence rescue vehicle A deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) is a type of deep-submergence vehicle used for rescue of personnel from disabled submarines and submersibles. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy, other nations have different ...
(DSRV) for rescuing and aiding submarines in need. To aid in its submarine operation, the Indian Navy signed a contract with the
Hindustan Shipyard Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is a public sector undertaking shipyard located in Visakhapatnam, on the east coast of India. HSL is a major shipyard in India, with a capacity to manufacture vessels up to 80,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT). The s ...
(HSL) to indigenously design, develop and manufacture these ships on 20 September 2018. Initially, the design of the vessel was limited to which later increased to . The deal that was signed in September 2018 had a value of . The aim was to deliver the first vessel within 36 months of signing the deal. However, there was considerable delay due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
with the launching of the ships done in September 2022 and the first delivery expected in July 2023, this tantamount to a delay of two years. The project was awarded to HSL on a nomination basis to improve the financial standing of the shipyard. HSL began construction activities for the project in 2019. Nistar started its first sea trials on 27 May 2024.


Construction

HSL started the construction activities months after signing the deal. The beleaguered shipyard won this project on a nomination basis to bolster its financial position. The first ship (Yard-11190) was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
on 28 December 2019, a year after signing the deal whilst the keel of the second ship (Yard-11191) was laid down three months later on 23 March 2020. The contract obligated the shipyard to deliver the ships within 36 months from signing the deal but there has been considerably delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent
lock down A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
in India. Both the ships were concurrently launched on 22 September 2022. A minimum delay of a year was expected with the first ship, which is expected to be delivered in July 2023 while the second ship will be delivered six months later, around January 2024. Owing to this delay, the Indian Navy has released a Request for Information (RFI) to lease a mother ship to operate their
deep-submergence rescue vehicle A deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) is a type of deep-submergence vehicle used for rescue of personnel from disabled submarines and submersibles. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy, other nations have different ...
(DSRV). The ship will have at least 80% indigenous content contributing significantly to the
Atmanirbhar Bharat Atmanirbhar Bharat () is a phrase popularized by Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, for economic self-sufficiency and national development during a pandemic. The term ...
mission of the Government of India and further bolstered the Indian economy. As of December 2022, 46% of the physical construction has been complete on both the ships with deliveries expected to be completed by 2024. On 27 May 2024, ''Nistar'' completed its maiden
sea trials A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on o ...
. The trials included assessment of the ship's maneuverability, propulsion systems, and onboard equipment. Between 24 March and 12 April 2025, the air/mix gas diving system trials of the ship was completed which included unmanned and manned dives at varying depths as well as trials of its Observation-class Remotely Operated Vehicle (OROV). This will be followed by "saturation diving trials".


Design

The ships will have a displacement of which has considerably increased from the contracted weight of . The reason for the substantial increase in weight has not been disclosed but it can be corroborated to increased role of the ship. The length of and a beam of . The diving support vessels (DSVs) are first of the kind ship, indigenously designed and built at HSL for the Indian Navy. The ship has been designed by HSL with design consultancy from Vik-Sandvik design similar to the , another specialty ship manufactured by HSL. These ships will be able to perform carry out
submarine rescue Submarine rescue is the process of locating a sunk submarine with survivors on board, and bringing the survivors to safety. This may be done by recovering the vessel to the surface first, or by transferring the trapped personnel to a rescue bell o ...
,
deep sea diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...
operations along with search and rescue missions, sustained patrolling and helicopter operations at the sea. The ships will be fitted with
Dynamic Positioning Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompas ...
System (DP-II) to automatically maintain its position and heading during underwater operations in harsh conditions. Other equipment also includes a six-person
Decompression Chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...
; a Submersible Decompression Chamber (SDC), or Diving Bell, which is launched through a
moon pool A moon pool is an equipment deployment and retrieval feature used by oil platforms, marine drilling platforms, drillships, diving support vessels, fishing vessels, oceanography, marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and ...
for diver safety; and a Self-Propelled Hyperbaric Lifeboat (SPHL). Diving vessel carried by the ships include two Observation-class Remotely Operated Vehicles (OROVs) and two
Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle A deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) is a type of deep-submergence vehicle used for rescue of personnel from disabled submarines and submersibles. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy, other nations have different ...
(DSRV) along with a
helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...
.


Ships of the class


Gallery


See also

*
Future of the Indian Navy The Indian Navy has been focusing on developing indigenous platforms, systems, sensors and weapons as part of the nation's modernisation and expansion of its maritime forces. As of January 2025, the Indian Navy had 64 vessels of various types u ...
*
Diving support craft (Indian navy) Diving Support Craft (DSC) are a series of 5 small-category diving support vessels being built for the Indian Navy by Titagarh Rail Systems Limited. These are designed and equipped with state-of-the-art apparatus to support diving operations i ...


References

{{Ship classes of the Indian Navy Ships built in India Proposed ships