ORV Sagar Manthan, built under the Deep Ocean Mission at a cost of around Rs 840 crore, will boost India’s ocean research capabilities.

NEW DELHI: The Government on Wednesday launched state-of-the-art ocean research vessel ORV Sagar Manthan at Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata, boosting India’s efforts towards self-reliance in oceanographic science and maritime technology.Constructed under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of the government’s flagship Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) at a cost of around Rs 840 crore, the vessel is an all-weather, multidisciplinary platform. It is engineered to operate in extreme oceanic environments, including the Southern Ocean, with a projected service life of 30 years.The ORV Sagar Manthan, designed, engineered and constructed by defence public sector undertaking Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE), will gradually replace the iconic 43-year-old ORV Sagar Kanya, procured from Germany in 1983.“Today, the world knows very little about our oceans, yet they provide vital inputs about melting polar glaciers, maritime impact, and climate dynamics. Solid data collected by vessels like ORV Sagar Manthan will allow India to lead the global path in disaster prevention, take corrective environmental measures, and play a pivotal role in global ocean geopolitics,” said Union minister of earth sciences Jitendra Singh, who virtually joined the launch event.

ORV Sagar Manthan will support multidisciplinary exploration along Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges to identify multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide mineralisation, establish environmental baselines and collect upper-air data. It integrates dynamic positioning, multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic systems, sub-bottom profiling, weather radar, drop keels and deployment facilities for remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles.