Navy to Commission Diving Support Vessel Nipun on August 31

The Indian Navy has announced the commissioning of Nipun, its second indigenous Diving Support Vessel of the Nistar class, at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, on August 31, 2026, according to a statement issued by the Navy.

Diving Support Vessels of the Nistar class are designed for deep-sea diving operations and submarine rescue support, a capability the Navy has been building indigenously to reduce dependence on foreign assets for underwater emergency response involving its submarine fleet, which operates both conventional and nuclear-powered boats across the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

Nipun follows Nistar, the lead vessel of the class, into service, giving the Navy a second platform capable of supporting saturation diving and submarine rescue operations, functions that require specialised equipment for operating at depths beyond the reach of standard naval diving teams, including deep submergence rescue vehicle deployment capability.

The commissioning of a second vessel in the class points to the Navy's effort to build sustained underwater rescue capacity rather than relying on a single platform, an important distinction for a service that operates submarines across both its western and eastern fleets, based out of Mumbai and Visakhapatnam respectively.

Submarine rescue capability has drawn renewed attention across navies globally following past submarine accidents worldwide, and India's push to indigenously build a class of dedicated diving support vessels reflects a broader effort to reduce reliance on foreign rescue assets during emergencies, a capability gap the Navy has worked to close over the past decade.

The vessel's construction as part of an indigenous shipbuilding programme also fits into the Navy's broader push toward self-reliance in warship and support-vessel construction, a priority that has shaped procurement decisions across multiple ship classes in recent years.

Nipun's commissioning at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, adds the vessel to the Western Naval Command's order of battle, from where it will be available to support diving and rescue operations as required.