ORV Sagar Manthan:
The Union Minister for Earth Sciences launched India’s advanced Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) ‘Sagar Manthan’ at Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata.
- ORV Sagar Manthan is an indigenous ocean research vessel.
- It is an all-weather, multidisciplinary platform.
- It is designed, engineered, and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
- It is constructed under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of the Government of India’s flagship Deep Ocean Mission (DOM).
- It is engineered to operate in extreme oceanic environments, including the Southern Ocean, with a projected service life of 30 years.
- Key Features:
- Advanced Equipment: It is integrated with dynamic positioning, multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic systems, sub-bottom profiling, weather radar, drop keels, and deployment facilities for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV).
- Research Spectrum: It will support multidisciplinary exploration along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges to identify multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide mineralisation, establish environmental baselines, collect upper-air data, and undertake CTD profiling.
- Dual-Class Certification: It is built in full compliance with international regulatory standards under dual-class certification by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
