INS Nipun commissioned into Navy
INS Nipun, the second Diving Support Vessel (DSV) of the Nistar class, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
The ship was indigenously designed and constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), a public sector shipyard based in Visakhapatnam.
INS Nipun is built to conduct deep-sea saturation diving, underwater intervention, salvage operations and submarine rescue support.
The commissioning was described by the Indian Navy as reflecting India's growing capability to design and build technologically complex specialist naval platforms domestically.
Diving Support Vessels (DSVs) and Submarine Rescue Capability
A DSV is a specialised naval auxiliary ship equipped to support deep-sea diving, salvage and submarine escape/rescue operations — a capability that is distinct from combat vessels (destroyers, frigates) and is a critical enabler of submarine safety.
Key Details
- INS Nipun (like the lead ship INS Nistar) can conduct saturation diving to depths of up to 300 metres, with a side diving stage for operations up to 75 metres.
- The vessel is designed to act as a "mother ship" for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), enabling rescue of personnel trapped in a disabled submarine — a capability India previously depended on leased/foreign assets for, before acquiring indigenous DSRVs.
- Onboard diving infrastructure includes a six-person decompression chamber, a diving bell, a moonpool, a self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for underwater survey/salvage, and a 15-tonne crane for debris recovery.
- Medical facilities include an eight-bed hospital, an operating theatre and an ICU, reflecting the vessel's role in supporting personnel undergoing decompression after deep dives.
INS Nipun materially expands India's indigenous submarine-rescue and deep-sea salvage capacity, reducing dependence on foreign-flagged or leased DSVs for a mission-critical safety function for the submarine arm.
Defence Indigenisation and the "Buy (Indian)" / "Make in India" Framework
Naval shipbuilding is one of the more advanced segments of India's defence indigenisation drive, with warships increasingly designed and built domestically rather than imported.
Key Details
- Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam — under the Ministry of Defence's Department of Defence Production — is one of India's oldest public sector shipyards and has been a hub for submarine refit and specialised vessel construction.
- Under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) framework, procurement categories such as "Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)" [Buy (Indian-IDDM)] are prioritised over "Buy (Global)" to promote domestic design and manufacture; DSVs built by HSL fall within this indigenisation push.
- India's indigenous warship-building programme has progressively covered destroyers, frigates, corvettes and now specialised auxiliary vessels like DSVs, reducing reliance on imported niche-capability ships.
The Navy's characterisation of INS Nipun as reflecting India's capability to "design and build technologically complex specialist naval platforms" domestically ties directly to the indigenisation goals under Atmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector.
Distinguishing DSVs from ASW Shallow Water Craft
Naval vessel classes with overlapping "coastal/undersea" roles are frequently confused in current-affairs coverage; it is useful to distinguish the Nistar-class DSVs from the separate Arnala-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC).
Key Details
- The Nistar-class DSVs (INS Nistar, INS Nipun) are non-combatant support vessels focused on diving, salvage and submarine rescue.
- The Arnala-class ASW-SWC (e.g., INS Arnala, INS Androth) are combatant vessels designed for anti-submarine warfare and coastal surveillance in shallow waters, an entirely different class with a different operational role.
- Both programmes are separate examples of indigenous specialist-ship construction under India's naval shipbuilding modernisation.
Distinguishing vessel classes and their specific roles (rescue/support vs. combat) is a common area of factual precision tested in Prelims-style current-affairs questions on Indian Navy inductions.
- INS Nipun: second Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel; commissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai
- Builder: Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam
- Length: approximately 118-119 metres; displacement: approximately 9,350-10,500 tonnes (class figures)
- Saturation diving depth: up to 300 metres; side diving stage: up to 75 metres
- Endurance: can remain at sea for up to 60 days without replenishment; cruising speed approximately 14 knots
- Onboard medical facility: eight-bed hospital with operating theatre and ICU
- Lead ship of class: INS Nistar (first Nistar-class DSV)