Indian Navy welcomes first indigenously made diving support craft

September 18, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

DSC A20, the first indigenously designed and constructed diving support craft, was delivered by Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) to the Indian Navy on September 16, 2025, at Kolkata.

As informed, the ship is indigenously designed and built under the relevant naval rules and regulations of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).

The hydrodynamic analysis/ model testing of the ships during the design stage was undertaken at Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam. These ships are a part of the Make in India initiative of the Government of India (GoI).

Specifically, DSC A20 is designed to undertake diving operations in coastal waters and is fitted with modern diving equipment. The ship has a catamaran hull, with a displacement of approximately 380 tons.

TRSL signed a contract for the construction of five diving support craft with the Indian Ministry of Defense in February 2021.

To remind, in July this year, the Indian Navy commissioned the first of the class diving support vessel (DSV) Nistar at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam. It was indigenously designed and constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL). The vessel is a part of the Eastern Naval Command to support deep-sea diving and submarine rescue operations.