The India International Science Festival 2021 held in Goa gave us a wonderful opportunity to accompany a team of scientists and Dr. Sunil Kumar Singh, Director CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), on board, RV Sindhu Sadhana (Pride of India) on 12th December 2021. A warm welcome by the captain of the ship and his team was followed by a brief introduction on the design, features of the ship and safety precautions.

RV Sindhu Sadhana is India’s first indigenously built full ocean depth, all weather, multi-disciplinary oceanographic research vessel and costs about Rs. 300 crores.

Acquired by CSIR-NIO in December 2013, RV Sindhu Sadhana is equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and equipment for oceanographic research. The dimensions of the vessel are - 80m length, 16m breadth and a maximum draft of 5.2m. It can accommodate 27 scientific staff, 28 crew members and travels at a speed of 13.4 knots. The ship can travel continuously in the sea without a break (endurance) for 45 days.

The visit acquainted us with first-hand information on the oceanographic research activities. This floating research centre is equipped with about 10 laboratories that include geochemistry, biology, computer and data processing lab, and wet and analytical labs. Navigated with a global positioning system (GPS), the ship can halt at a point in the middle of sea for sampling. The ship’s Dynamic Positioning System (DPS)enables collection of water samples for flora and fauna and sediments from sea bed for investigations

The vessel is intended to sail in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean for scientific exploration and oceanographic research activities. The deep water and sea bed sediment samplings help deep-water explorations to locate new minerals, hydrocarbon resources, flora and fauna.

We were given a tour of the vessel’s engine, deck, sampling mechanism and demonstration of preliminary investigations in the laboratories.

Apart from an efficient internal communications system, the ship is equipped with a state of the art external communication system for continuous interactions with shore stations, other ships, boats and aircrafts. Over a delicious lunch, we had discussions on the exciting marine research facilities available on RV Sindhu Sadhana, while a marine pilot helped the vessel for navigation through the local waterway before finally anchoring at the harbour

Chandrasekharam Malapaka and Ambica Vankamamidi
CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology