INS Sandhayak First Indigenous Hydrographic Survey Ship Decommissioned
The ship INS SANDHAYAK was commissioned in the Indian Navy on Feb 26, 1981 by Vice Adm MK Roy, who was the then Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command (ENC). It came equipped with four survey motor boats and two small boats and armed with a Bofors 40mm/60mm gun mount for self defence. There is a helicopter deck too.
This was India’s first indigenously designed and built Hydrographic Survey Ship. It is now is getting decommissioned from the service on June 4, 2021. The ship which has been in service for four decades will be decommissioned in a ceremony at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam.
This ship was conceptualised by then Chief Hydrographer, Rear Adm FL Fraser, who also designed this hydrographic survey vessel in India. The construction of the ship began at GRSE Kolkata (then Calcutta) by laying the keel in 1978, after the design was finalized by Naval Headquarters.
From the time of its commissioning, the ship has been the Alma-Mater, and has played a very important role in laying the foundation of complete hydrographic coverage of the peninsular waters. The design of this first ship was a major success which paved the way for all the Survey ships of the Indian Navy in modifications till recently.
While in service, the ship has undertaken around 200 major Hydrographic Surveys. And has also been a part of numerous minor surveys in both East and West coasts of the country, Andaman seas and the neighbouring countries too. Besides the Survey Missions, it has been an active participant in many significant operations including : Op Pawan – assisting the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in 1987; Op Sarong; and Op Rainbow – for rendering humanitarian assistance post Tsunami of 2004. It had also participated in the first joint Indo-US HADR Exercise ‘Tiger-Triumph’.
Over 40 years, 22 Commanding Officers were at the helm. The last Commanding Officer took charge of the ship on June 17, 2019.
According to the Indian navy, the decommissioning ceremony will be done in the presence of Vice Adm Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. Thus symbolising the decommissioning of the ship.
On Friday, the ceremony will be attended only by in-station officers and sailors, in accordance with stringent COVID protocols.
The other ships of this class in Service are INS INVESTIGATOR,, NIRUPAK, SARVESHAK, JAMMUNA, DARSHAK and SUTLEJ. They have been constructed between 1985to 2002in two batches.
These Shipsdisplace around 1950tons and have speed of 16 knots. They have 18 officers and 160 sailors. The ships are equipped with variety of next-generation surveying systems fitted onboard including multi-beam swath echo sounding system, differential Grand motion sensors, sea Gravimeter, magnetometer, oceanographic Sensors, side scan Sonars, automated Data logging system, sound velocity profiling system, digital survey and processing system, amongst others.
The ships are designed to undertake shallow coastal and deep oceanic hydrographic survey and collect oceanographic and geophysical data required for the production of digital navigational charts and publications. Besides carrying out their primary role of hydrographic survey, they can also assist in times of war and natural calamities as troop transports and casualty holding ships.
