India Launches Advanced Ocean Research Vessel Sagar Manthan

India has made huge step towards enhancing its native capacity for ocean research with the unveiling of ORV Sagar Manthan, a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research vessel, at Kolkata on September 9, 2026. This advanced vessel has been designed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Deep Ocean Mission with an estimated cost of around ₹840 crore. The vessel, which is well-equipped to operate under tough oceanic conditions, would be used to carry out research on climate change, marine studies, deep sea geology and maritime science.

ORV Sagar Manthan: Major Features

ORV Sagar Manthan, also called Yard 3041, has been unveiled at Rishi Bankim Shipyard, Kolkata. Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh, virtually launched the vessel, whereas Mrs Manju Singh, his wife, performed the naming ceremony.

This is a big step towards the achievement of Atmanirbharta in oceanographic research, making India less dependent on foreign research vessels.

It is anticipated to progressively replace the ORV Sagar Kanya that India had purchased from Germany in 1983.

Advanced Technology for Ocean Research

The ORV Sagar Manthan has been designed as a multidisciplinary research platform that can function during any weather conditions in difficult terrains, such as the Southern Ocean. The platform will have an expected lifetime of about 30 years.

Some of its major features includes,

• Dynamic positioning system
• Multi-beam bathymetry and multi-channel seismic system
• Sub-bottom profiling
• Weather radar
• Drop keel
• Remote operated vehicle/Autonomous underwater vehicle deployment
• CTD profiling and water column sampling
• Atmospheric and upper air observations

These systems will help researchers gather information from different levels of the oceans.

Role in Deep Ocean Mission

This vessel is being developed under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of India’s flagship Deep Ocean Mission.

One of the major functions will be to aid in the exploration of mid-oceanic ridge areas of the Indian Ocean and examine the phenomenon of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide mineralisation. It will also aid in creating environmental baselines and generation of scientific information for climate and marine studies.

Improved ocean data will assist in the research about climate dynamics, polar glacier variations, tsunami prediction and disaster management.

A Step Forward in Indigenous Shipbuilding

Another aspect of the project that must be noted is India’s ability to indigenously design and manufacture advanced oceanographic platforms. The vessel has been developed as per international standards by GRSE with dual-class certification from the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

The construction contract was awarded in July 2024, followed by first steel cutting on November 29, 2024 and keel laying on April 8, 2026.