Indian Navy’s First Large Survey Vessel Launched

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) launched ‘Sandhayak’, the first of the four Survey Vessels (Large) project being built for the Indian Navy, in Kolkata on Sunday.

The contract for building four survey ships was signed between MoD and GRSE in October 2018 at a total cost of INR 2435 Crore (around $300 million).

These survey ships are capable of full scale coastal & deep-water hydrographic survey of Ports & Harbour approaches and determination of navigational channels & routes. These ships are also capable of undertaking survey of maritime limits and collection of Oceanographic & Geographical data for Defence applications.

These ships are propelled by two Marine Diesel Engines combined with Fixed Pitch Propellers and fitted with Bow & Stern Thrusters for manoeuvring at low speeds during surveys.

In their secondary role, these ships would be capable of performing roles such as Search & Rescue and Disaster Relief, besides serving as Hospital ship with limited facilities during emergencies. The ships will have a retractable Hangar for stowage of a Utility helicopter.