KOLKATA / NEW DELHI — Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh, virtually launched India’s advanced indigenous Ocean Research Vessel (Yard 3041), named ORV Sagar Manthan, at the Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata.
The vessel was constructed by Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). Built at an estimated cost of ₹840 crore, the vessel was commissioned under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of the flagship Deep Ocean Mission (DOM). The platform is slated to replace the 43-year-old German-procured ORV Sagar Kanya upon final delivery in 2028.
The launching ceremony was attended by Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, alongside Cmdr PR Hari (Retd), Chairman & Managing Director of GRSE, Dr. M.V. Ramanamurthy, Mission Director (Deep Ocean Mission), and Dr. Thamban Meloth, Director of NCPOR.
Technical Specifications & Project Architecture Matrix
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Procuring Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) | National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
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Executing Shipbuilder: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata.
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Flagship Scheme Allocation: Deep Ocean Mission (Vertical-4: Deep Ocean Survey & Exploration).
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Financial Capital Outlay: ~₹840 Crore.
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Operational Lifespan & Service Profile: 30-year design life; all-weather capability optimized for extreme environments, including the Southern Ocean.
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Dual-Class Regulatory Compliance: Certified under the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
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Project Milestone Timeline:
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Contract Signing: July 2024.
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First Steel Cutting: November 29, 2024.
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Keel Laying: April 08, 2026.
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Vessel Launch & Naming: September 09, 2026.
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Scheduled Delivery & Commissioning: 2028.
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Scientific Instrumentation Payload:
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Dynamic Positioning Systems & Drop Keels.
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Underway Swath Multibeam Bathymetry & Multichannel Seismic Profiling.
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Weather Radar, Sub-bottom Profilers, and Atmospheric Data Collectors.
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Deployment and recovery ramps for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).
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Primary Research Missions: Hydrothermal multi-metal sulphide mineralization mapping along Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges, upper-air meteorological observations, CTD water column profiling, and climate change data modeling.
