India to emerge as preferred submarine rescue partner in Indian Ocean Region
Mumbai: India is set to emerge as the ‘preferred submarine rescue partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region with the commissioning of INS Nipun, the second diving support vessel (DSV), at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard. INS Nipun will be part of the Western Naval Command (WNC), the Mumbai-headquartered sword arm of the Indian Navy. The first of the Nissar-class DSV series, INS Nistar was commissioned at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) on 18 July 2025.
Mumbai: India is set to emerge as the ‘preferred submarine rescue partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region with the commissioning of INS Nipun, the second diving support vessel (DSV), at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard.
INS Nipun will be part of the Western Naval Command (WNC), the Mumbai-headquartered sword arm of the Indian Navy.
The first of the Nissar-class DSV series, INS Nistar was commissioned at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) on 18 July 2025.
The two DSVs add to the niche underwater capabilities needed to sustain multi-domain operations for the three-dimension blue-water navy.
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In Mumbai, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, the Chief of Naval Staff, commissioned INS Nipun at an impressive ceremony in presence of Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WNC and Rear Admiral Chandrasekharan Raghuram (Retd), the Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Shipyard Ltd.
Commander LS Subramanian, the Commanding Officer, read out the commissioning warrant.
“With West Asia in churn, global maritime highways under threat, and nations across the region rearming at an accelerating pace, the Western Naval Command would continue to remain at the vanguard of tackling this challenge in the maritime domain,” Admiral Swaminathan said.
He said INS Nipun adds specialised capability to support complex underwater operations and respond to emergencies in one of the most demanding and mysterious environments known to the world.
“With West Asia in churn, global maritime highways under threat, and nations across the region rearming at an accelerating pace, the Western Naval Command would continue to remain at the vanguard of tackling this challenge in the maritime domain,” he added.
The CNS said that the addition of this capability will enable the Western Naval Command to strengthen its capabilities to operate above, on, and beneath the waves.
“As a dedicated diving support and submarine rescue vessel, INS Nipun adds specialised capability to support complex underwater operations, and respond to emergencies, in one of the most demanding and mysterious environments known to the world,” Admiral Swaminathan said adding that submarine rescue, in particular, is a discipline where preparedness admits little margin for delay.
“INS Nipun's ability to embark and operate the Indian Navy's Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel significantly enhances our capacity to respond to a distressed submarine quite significantly - whether our own, or that of a partner Navy. This capability would also enable India to support submarine rescue and emerge as the 'Preferred Submarine Rescue Partner' in the region,” the Navy chief said.
In addition, Nipun’s specialised diving capabilities can support partner nations in underwater salvage and HADR missions, adding another dimension to the Navy's maritime cooperation efforts.