Two indigenously designed and built Diving Support Vessels of the Navy were launched in Visakhapatnam on Thursday
Named ‘Nistar’ and ‘Nipun’, the ships were launched by Kala Hari Kumar, the wife of the Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, as per naval traditions
The ships are capable of conducting search and rescue operations and carrying out helicopter operations at sea
The vessels are first-of-its-kind ships, indigenously designed and built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd
The two have been manufactured with over 80 per cent indigenous content. TNS
Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar recollected that ‘Nistar’, in its previous avatar as a rescue vessel, played an instrumental role in conducting diving ops on Pakistan Navy Submarine Ghazi, which sank outside Vishakhapatnam harbour during the 1971 war.
