The Indian Navy has contracted Visakhapatnam-based shipbuilder Hindustan Shipyard Limited for the construction of two 118-meter diving support vessels (DSV).
The contract was signed on September 20.
The first vessel is scheduled to be built in a 36-month period, followed by the second, six months later. The vessels will be based at Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai respectively. According to the navy, the DSVs will displace 7,650 tons.
In addition to supporting diving operations, the two newbuilds will be equipped with deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV). UK-based James Fisher Defence is delivering two sets of non-tethered DSRVs under a contract from March 2016. The first DSRV was delivered at Mumbai in April 2018 and the second DSRV slated for Vishakhapatnam is expected by end December 2018.