INS Nirdeshak
♦ INS Nirdeshak was formally commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on 18 December 2024. This is the second ship under the Survey Vessel (Large) project. Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth presided over the commissioning ceremony. ♦ The ship is part of a series of four survey vessels under construction by Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. ♦ The secondary roles of the vessel is to serve as a hospital ship and to take part in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions. The vessel is the successor of the former ship ‘Nirdeshak,’ that served the Indian Navy with distinction for over three decades. It was decommissioned on December 19, 2014. ♦ The ship is equipped with advanced hydrographic systems, including Multi Beam Echo Sounders, Side Scan Sonars, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV). These technologies enable precise mapping for safe navigation, expand survey capabilities in challenging zones, and support environmental studies and wreck identification.