GRSE launches Indian Navy survey vessel ‘INS Nirdeshak’

Highlights:

• Nirdeshak, the second of the four Survey Vessels (Large) (SVL) projects being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in collaboration with L&T shipbuilding for the Indian Navy was launched, at Kattupalli, Chennai.

• The ship has taken its name from erstwhile Nirdeshak which was also an Indian Naval Survey ship and was decommissioned after 32 years of glorious service in December 2014.
• Part construction of three out of four ships of SVL is being undertaken at L&T, Kattupalli as part of a collaborative approach between GRSE and L&T shipbuilding.
• This model of Public-Private Partnership shall be a harbinger of future successful collaboration for Warship construction in India.
• The contract for building four SVL ships was signed between MoD and GRSE, Kolkata on October 30, 2018. 
• The first of class ship ‘Sandhayak’ was launched in December 2021 at GRSE, Kolkata.
• INS Nirdeshak, the second ship out of the Indian Navy’s four Survey Vessels (Large) (SVL) projects, being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in association with L&T shipbuilding has been launched at Kattupalli, Chennai.
• The ships are designed to operate at a maximum speed of 18 knots and a cruise speed of 14 knots.
• The Sandhayak Class survey ships will be replaced by the SVL ships.
• The SVL ships are fitted with new generation hydrographic equipment so that they can collect oceanographic data.
• The ships will be able to carry four survey motorboats along with an integral helicopter.
• The primary role of the SVL ships would be to undertake deep-water and coastal surveys of navigational channels and ports.
• The ships will also be used to collect geophysical and oceanographic data for civil as well as defence applications.
• The secondary role of the ships will be to provide limited defence, along with serving as hospital ships during emergencies.
• The ships are fitted with bow and stern Thrusters for better low-speed manoeuvring that is required during survey operations on shallow water.
• The hull of the SVL ships are constructed with indigenously developed DMR 249-A steel that is manufactured by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).