Panaji: National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research’s (NCPOR) long-awaited dream to get an oceanographic vessel for deep-sea exploration will kick off this week in Kolkata. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers shipyard will lay the keel for the Oceanographic Research Vessel (ORV) under the Deep Ocean Mission.The vessel costs Rs 839.55 crore, and at 89.5m, it will be the largest research vessel to be built in an Indian shipyard.“The new oceanographic research vessel is getting ready, for which the keel-laying ceremony is day after tomorrow in Kolkata. It’s another milestone in the ongoing work,” said NCPOR director Thamban Meloth. “We expect it in early 2028.”The vessel is part of the three priorities that Meloth outlined for the Vasco-based scientific institute in his address to mark the foundation day of NCPOR. Aside from the oceanographic research vessel, NCPOR plans to acquire an ice-class polar research vessel for Rs 2,400-2,700 crore.“Our future vision for polar and ocean science must be guided by priorities. I find at least three priorities for me. The first is integrated science. The second is advanced infrastructure. And third is the people, skilled manpower, because ultimately, the growth of an institution happens through the people,” said Meloth.The contract for the ORV was inked in July 2024 at NCPOR. It will be deployed for undertaking deep-sea scientific surveys and ocean bed sampling towards the deep ocean mission of the ministry of earth sciences. The vessel is expected to have a maximum speed of 14 knots and will be equipped with laboratories, scientific equipment and tools for deep-sea mineral exploration such as multibeam bathymetry system, multichannel seismics, seabed samplers and onboard analytical systems. The vessel will have all-weather capability and capacity to carry 34 scientists at a time and is expected to serve India for the next 30 years.“We will need to adopt automation, autonomous platforms and sensors, and we will be adding a new Antarctica station, the Maitri II as well as the new polar research vessel,” said Meloth.Meloth said that to improve monsoon forecasts and deepen climate studies, scientists need to stop working in silos and need to see the planet as a whole. “We must connect the fjords, oceans, Himalayas and the globe,” he said.The ORV, which is being designed to minimise the underwater radiated noise, will also be able to deploy and retrieve submersibles, including autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vessels.
