NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy on Friday commissioned INS Nistar, India’s first indigenously designed and built diving support vessel (DSV), at the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam. This is a major milestone in India’s push for self-reliance in defence. Built by Hindustan shipyard limited, INS Nistar was formally handed over to the Navy on 8 July 2025. The vessel is designed to handle deep-sea diving and rescue operations, a capability that only a few navies around the world possess. It is also equipped to act as the mother ship for the navy’s deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV).

At the commissioning ceremony, Union minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and navy chief admiral Dinesh K Tripathi were present. Both praised the achievement as a boost to the aatmanirbhar Bharat. The navy Chief described Nistar as a proud addition to India’s maritime strength and recalled its historical connection to the 1971 Indo-Pak war, when an earlier vessel by the same name helped detect the Pakistani submarine Ghazi. He further said, “I am confident that this new Nistar will carry forward and strengthen the proud legacy of the original.” The new Nistar weighs nearly 10,000 tonnes and is 118 metres long. It is built to Indian register of shipping standards and can perform saturation diving up to 300 metres. It also features a side diving stage for shallower dives up to 75 metres, and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) capable of operating up to 1,000 metres deep for diver support and salvage work. Around 75% of the ship’s components are indigenous, marking a significant step in defence manufacturing under the government’s make in India initiative. The word Nistar comes from Sanskrit, meaning liberation or rescue—a name for a ship designed to save lives at sea.