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Naval platforms
A diving support vessel is not a fighting ship: it keeps divers alive at depth and stands by for a submarine rescue. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Nipun, the second of the Nistar class, was commissioned on 1 September, giving the Navy another ship able to support saturation diving and to act as mother ship for its Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel.
What a diving support vessel does
- It supports saturation diving, so divers can work on the seabed for days at a time.
- Its hyperbaric lifeboat evacuates divers still under pressure, so an emergency does not force a rapid decompression.
- It is the mother ship for a Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), which rescues the crew of a disabled submarine.
What has happened
1 Sep 2026
INS Nipun, the Navy's second Nistar class diving support vessel, was commissioned.
- It follows INS Nistar, and like it was built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited.