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Shyam Sood
Rajouri-New Delhi, Feb 4: In the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the first Survey Vessel Large (SVL) INS Sandhayak (Yard 3025) was commissioned into the Indian Navy in an impressive function held at the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
The commissioning ceremony marked the formal induction of the first of the four ships of the SVL Project under construction at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The project has been steered by the Warship Design Bureau of the Indian Navy.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the primary role of the ship is to carry out full scale hydrographic surveys of ports, harbours, navigational channels/routes, coastal areas/deep seas, towards enabling safe marine navigation & in secondary role will also be capable of undertaking a range of naval operations.
“INS Sandhayak will further strengthen India’s role as a superpower in the Indo-Pacific region and help the Indian Navy in maintaining peace & security. A country, in the initial stage of its development, depends on other countries for security, before it starts developing the capability to protect itself. When the country becomes powerful it not only safeguards its own interests, but also becomes capable of protecting its friendly nations,” said Rajnath Singh.
The Raksha Mantri expressed hope that INS Sandhayak will go a long way in obtaining information about the oceans and achieve the twin objective of protecting the country as well as others.
“The ocean is vast and bottomless. The more we can explore its elements, the more our knowledge will expand, and we will become stronger,” Defence Minister added.
“Despite facing challenges on many fronts during the post-Independence era, India continued to move forward for its security and protected itself from threats. Today, India is marching ahead on the path of development, with the more-than-ever strong Navy providing security in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region as the first responder,” said Rajnath Singh.
Describing the Indian Ocean as a hotspot for global trade, Rajnath Singh said: “Many choke points like Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Guinea etc. are present in the Indian Ocean, through which a large amount of international trade takes place. Many threats remain at these choke points & the biggest being from pirates,”.
He mentioned recent attempts of hijacking of merchant vessels in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Navy’s courage and promptness to rescue the ships from the pirates.
During the commissioning of INS Imphal recently, the defence minister said that India will find those involved in nefarious activities from the depth of the oceans and take strict action against them.
Rajnath Singh lauded the Indian Navy for providing security not only to the Indian ships, but also those from friendly countries including averting five piracy attempts and assisting ships attacked by drones and missiles in the last few days, in addition to rescuing 80 fishermen/marines.
“The Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean region is facilitating safe trade, while ensuring peace and prosperity. Many defence experts are calling this the rise of a superpower. This is our culture – to protect everyone,” he said.
“The purpose of our growing power is to ensure a rules-based world order. Our aim is to stop illegal and unregulated fishing in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region. The Navy is not only committed to stopping piracy, but also making this entire region peaceful and prosperous. INS Sandhayak will play a crucial role in achieving our objective,” said Rajnath Singh.
“SVL project highlights the growing importance attached by the government and the Navy to the quintessential prerequisite to operating at sea – survey of the unfathomable depths of the oceans.
To leverage the flexibility to undertake a diverse range of roles and tasks, the Navy has been launching state-of-the-art platforms indigenously,” said Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar.
“Be it the mighty aircraft carrier Vikrant, the deadly destroyers of Visakhapatnam Class, the versatile Nilgiri class Frigates, the stealthy Kalvari class submarines, the nimble Shallow Water ASW Craft or the specialised Diving Support Vessels – we are carefully crafting a balanced ‘Aatmanirbhar’ force in service of an ascendant Bharat,” he added.
“Not only India but the entire world has seen the effect of Rajnath Singh’s instructions in the last four-five weeks. The Indian Navy will not stop until the Indian Ocean becomes completely open, safe and free. We are ready,” said Admiral R Hari Kumar.
INS Sandhayak, means the one who carries out a special search, is equipped with state-of-the-art hydrographic equipment including Deep & Shallow
Water Multi-Beam Echo-Sounders, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Remotely Operated Vehicle, Side scan sonars, Data Acquisition and Processing System, satellite-based positioning systems and terrestrial survey equipment.
The ship is propelled by two Diesel Engines and can achieve speeds more than 18 knots. It has an indigenous content of over 80% by cost and is a tribute to the collaborative efforts between the Indian Navy and Industry, including MSMEs.
The crest depicts the sixteen points of a mariner’s compass, enclosing a ‘divider’ and an ‘anchor’ riding the sea, symbolising the charting of oceans, which is the basic role of the survey ship.
