The Sagar Manthan ORV launch put a fourth specialised research vessel into the water at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers' Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata, on Wednesday, as the Navratna shipyard delivered another indigenously built platform for ocean science. The vessel, an Ocean Research Vessel built for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, entered the water barely five months after its keel was laid.

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, was the chief guest for the ceremony. Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, attended as guest of honour. Senior officials from GRSE, the ministry and NCPOR were also present at the Kolkata yard.

The vessel was named Sagar Manthan by Smt Manju Singh, wife of Dr Jitendra Singh, following naval tradition, and launched by Smt Kavita Ellanti, wife of Dr Tummala.

Cmde PR Hari, Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE, said the shipyard's growing portfolio of research platforms had changed how he frames its work. "I believe that GRSE epitomizes Atmanirbharta in Warship building and now, with four specialised state of the art Research Vessels being built by GRSE, I would like to rephrase my statement, GRSE epitomizes Atmanirbharta in Design and Construction of Warships and Research Vessels," Hari said.

Tummala, separately, said Sagar Manthan is being built under the government's Deep Ocean Mission, and he urged NCPOR and GRSE to keep up the pace and assure full support from the ministry's end. Singh said the vessel represents the growing strength of India's indigenous shipbuilding, engineering and scientific capabilities for ocean research and exploration, remarks that framed the ceremony as much as the hardware itself. The comments came as officials from NCPOR and the ministry looked on, alongside GRSE's own design and production teams who worked through the compressed five month build schedule.

Capabilities the Sagar Manthan ORV launch adds for NCPOR

Once delivered, the vessel will carry out Underway Swath Multibeam surveys and geophysical seismic surveys to a maximum depth of 6 kilometres, plus Conductivity, Temperature and Depth profiling and water sampling using vertical and horizontal net methods.

Surface and deep sea mooring work sits alongside data buoy operations, seabed sampling with corers and grabs, and rock dredging using chain bag dredges.

Underway atmospheric observation, surface meteorological and current measurement, and upper air data collection round out the science payload. Scientists aboard will be able to carry out analytical work and data processing at sea, and the ship will also serve as a training platform for scientists and technicians working alongside the crew.

Specifications behind the launch

The vessel measures 89.50 metres in length and 18.80 metres in width, with a gross tonnage of 5,900 tonnes. Its designed speed is 14 knots at 90 percent maximum continuous rating, figures GRSE confirmed at the launch ceremony held at the Rishi Bankim Shipyard. The Sagar Manthan ORV launch is the fourth research platform the yard has put in the water for civilian scientific agencies in recent years, alongside its warship and patrol vessel programmes.

GRSE's four decade record in survey shipbuilding

GRSE has built survey vessels for the Indian Navy for close to four decades, with deliveries going back to the 1980s. It built and delivered the Marine Acoustic Research Vessel INS Sagardhwani to the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, in 1994. That ship remains in service after a recent refit at the yard.

The shipyard has also completed four Survey Vessels (Large) for the Navy. The last of these, Sanshodhak, was delivered on 30 March 2026. The class ranks as the largest survey vessels built in India and operated by the Navy, a distinction GRSE has held since the delivery, and one the shipyard now extends into civilian ocean research through Sagar Manthan and the other vessels on order for NCPOR, NPOL and the Geological Survey of India.

A crowded order book at the Kolkata yard

GRSE is currently building nine warships for the Indian Navy, among them an advanced guided missile frigate under the Project 17A programme, four anti submarine warfare shallow water craft, and four Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels, the class that includes the recently launched Shruti, which entered the water at the same Kolkata yard last month.

Another 32 platforms are in the pipeline at the yard, including 13 ships built for export. GRSE is also in advanced stages of concluding a contract for five Next Generation Corvettes for the Navy, an order book that has kept pace with the shipyard's recent elevation to Navratna status.


Other research and survey vessels underway

Beyond Sagar Manthan, GRSE is also building an Acoustic Research Ship for the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory and two Coastal Research Vessels for the Geological Survey of India.