Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh officially launched India’s new Ocean Research Vessel, ORV Sagar Manthan, during a virtual ceremony at the Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata. Built by defense public sector undertaking Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), the ship was named by Manju Singh, spouse of the Minister, following traditional naval protocol. Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Secretary Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar attended the launch on-site in Kolkata.
Highlighting the vessel’s alignment with the nation’s Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) goals, Dr. Jitendra Singh commended the project team for transferring the vessel to the water just two years after the contract was signed. He emphasized that data gathered by ORV Sagar Manthan will advance understanding of climate dynamics, polar glacier changes, and disaster mitigation, positioning India as a leading voice in global ocean geopolitics. The ship will gradually replace the 43-year-old German-procured ORV Sagar Kanya, ahead of planned future acquisitions including a Polar Research Vessel.
Constructed under Vertical-4 of the Deep Ocean Mission at an estimated cost of ₹840 Crore, the all-weather vessel is engineered for extreme environment operations, including the Southern Ocean, with a projected 30-year operational life. Equipped with dynamic positioning, multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic profiling, and deployment support for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), it will support multidisciplinary research along mid-oceanic ridges to study multi-metal hydrothermal mineral deposits and collect environmental baselines. Built under dual-class certification by the Indian Register of Shipping and American Bureau of Shipping, the ship will now undergo system integration and extensive sea trials toward full commissioning by 2028.
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