Indian Navy to commission first indigenous Diving Support Vessel ‘Nistar’ today

Visakhapatnam, July 18: The Indian Navy will officially commission Nistar, the country’s first locally designed and built Diving Support Vessel, to its fleet on Friday at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

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Union Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth, will be present at the event.

"#Nistar - India's first indigenously designed & constructed Diving Support Vessel, to be commissioned into to the #IndianNavy today, #18Jul 25, in presence of Hon'ble Raksha Rajya Mantri, Shri@SethSanjayMP," stated SpokespersonNavy in a post on ‘X’.

As per reports, 'Nistar' is the first Diving Support Vessel to be fully designed and built in India. It was handed over to the Indian Navy by Hindustan Shipyard Limited on July 8, 2025, in Visakhapatnam.

The ship was made according to the standards set by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).

According to an official statement, the ship shows the Indian government's strong commitment to building the nation by becoming self-reliant in defence production, in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat mission.

Around 120 small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) helped build this modern and unique vessel, with over 80% of the parts and materials made in India.

The ship is specially designed to carry out deep-sea diving and rescue missions—a skill that only a few navies in the world have.

The name 'Nistar' comes from Sanskrit and means liberation, rescue, or salvation.

The ship is 118 meters long and weighs nearly 10,000 tons. It has advanced diving equipment and can support deep saturation diving up to 300 meters. It also has a special side diving platform that allows diving operations up to 75 meters deep.