Navy set to commission second Diving Support Vessel ‘Nipun’ on Aug 31
INS Nipun, the Indian Navy's second indigenously built Diving Support Vessel (DSV) of the Nistar class, is scheduled for commissioning on August 31, 2026, at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai
The vessel was delivered to the Navy on July 30, 2026, after completion of outfitting and sea trials
Nipun was designed and constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam, described as a milestone in indigenous defence shipbuilding
The ship carries modern diving systems and underwater intervention capabilities to support deep-sea diving, submarine rescue, salvage, and search-and-rescue operations across India's maritime areas of interest
Diving Support Vessels (DSV) and India's Submarine Rescue Architecture
A DSV is a specialised naval ship that acts as a mothership for diving and submarine-rescue operations, providing platforms for deploying divers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and Deep Submergence Rescue Vessels (DSRVs), along with hyperbaric medical facilities for treating decompression sickness. India's submarine rescue capability rests on two layers: DSRVs (the actual rescue submersibles that dock onto a distressed submarine) and DSVs (the surface support ships that carry, launch, and recover the DSRVs).
Key Details
- India's DSRV capability was acquired via a March 2016 contract with James Fisher Defence (UK) for two DSRV systems, each rated to rescue personnel from a distressed submarine at depths up to 650 metres
- The first DSRV was commissioned in December 2018 at Mumbai (West Coast); the second was inducted in 2019 at Visakhapatnam (East Coast), giving India redundant rescue capability on both coasts
- INS Nistar (commissioned July 2025) is the first Nistar-class DSV — India's first indigenously designed and built vessel of this type; INS Nipun is its sister ship
- Nistar-class specifications: displacement of roughly 9,350-10,000 tonnes, length approximately 118-120 metres, endurance of over 60 days at sea, fitted with a 15-tonne subsea crane and helicopter-operation support
Nipun's commissioning gives the Navy a second indigenous DSV, allowing DSRV mothership duties to be based on both coasts using domestically built platforms rather than depending solely on ad-hoc chartered or older support ships.
Indigenisation in Defence Shipbuilding
Naval shipbuilding indigenisation is pursued primarily through the "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)" [Buy (Indian-IDDM)] category under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), which prioritises platforms designed and built domestically with high indigenous content, over "Buy (Global)" imports. Public sector shipyards (Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders, Cochin Shipyard) execute most major naval shipbuilding orders, with private-sector and MSME participation increasingly built into contracts.
Key Details
- Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam — originally a private shipyard (est. 1941 as Scindia Shipyard), nationalised in 1952, currently under the Ministry of Defence (transferred from Ministry of Shipping in 2010)
- The Nistar-class programme involved over 80% indigenous content and participation of around 120 MSMEs, per official figures for the lead ship
- Indigenous DSV construction reduces dependence on foreign-chartered support vessels for submarine rescue readiness, a capability gap India faced before 2018
Nipun is cited as a case of a technologically complex, mission-critical support vessel (not just a combatant) being designed and built entirely in India, extending indigenisation beyond front-line warships into specialised auxiliary and rescue platforms.
- INS Nipun: second Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel, commissioning scheduled August 31, 2026, at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai
- Builder: Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam
- Delivered to Navy: July 30, 2026
- Sister ship INS Nistar: first-in-class, commissioned July 2025 — India's first indigenous DSV
- Nistar-class specifications: ~9,350-10,000 tonnes displacement, ~118-120 m length, 60+ days endurance, 15-tonne subsea crane
- India's DSRV rescue depth capability: up to 650 metres, acquired via 2016 UK contract (James Fisher Defence), commissioned 2018 (Mumbai) and 2019 (Visakhapatnam)