About ORV Sagar Manthan
- ORV Sagar Manthan is India’s new 6,000m-depth ocean research vessel built by GRSE for the Deep Ocean Mission, replacing the legacy ORV Sagar Kanya.
- Nodal Agency: Built for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
- Mission Alignment: Operates as a primary platform under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of India’s Deep Ocean Mission (DOM).
- Vessel Succession: Gradually replaces ORV Sagar Kanya, the 43-year-old research vessel procured from Germany in 1983.
Research Scope
- Deep-Sea Mineral Exploration: Surveying mid-oceanic ridges to map hydrothermal sulphide deposits, polymetallic crusts, and critical raw materials.
- Geophysical & Seabed Mapping: Executing 3D multibeam bathymetric surveys, sub-bottom sedimentary profiling, and multichannel seismic subsurface analysis.
- Ocean-Climate Dynamics: Conducting upper-air observations, CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) profiling, and water column sampling to study global climate patterns and Southern Ocean conditions.
GRSE Shipbuilding Profile
GRSE brings nearly four decades of expertise in constructing specialized survey platforms for the Indian Navy, including four large survey vessels like INS Sanshodhak delivered in March 2026.
The shipyard is actively building nine major warships:
- 1 Project 17A guided-missile frigate
- 4 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW-SWC)
- 4 Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPVs)
| About Project 17A (Nilgiri Class) This program covers seven advanced stealth guided-missile frigates designed as upgraded successors to the Shivalik-class (Project 17), featuring enhanced stealth, advanced sensors, and high automation. GRSE Construction (3 Ships): INS Himgiri, INS Dunagiri, and INS Vindhyagiri. MDL Construction (4 Ships): INS Nilgiri, INS Udaygiri, INS Taragiri, and INS Mahendragiri. |
| This concept has also been discussed elaborately in the following article: ORV Sagar Manthan |