Visakhapatnam, Feb 3: Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar addressed the Commissioning Ceremony of INS Sandhayak at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam and said that the Navy is dedicated to carefully crafting a balanced 'Atmanirbhar Force' in service of an ascended Bharat.

"We are carefully crafting a balanced 'Atmanirbhar Force' in service of an ascended Bharat," said the Navy Chief Kumar.

The Navy Chief presented a warm welcome to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who arrived in Visakhapatnam to attend the Commissioning Ceremony of INS Sandhayak.

While speaking to the gathering at the ceremony Navy Chief said, "It is our privilege to have in our midst the Defence Minister for the commissioning ceremony of INS Sandhayak."

"Sandhayak which literally means 'one who carries out a special search' is indeed a fitting name for the first of the four state-of-the-art survey vessels large class of ships," he said.

Adding ahead he said, "This project highlights the growing importance attached by our government and the Navy to the quintessential requirement to operate at sea where we require charts and to survey the unfathomable depths of the ocean."

"We all know how important a map or chart is whether at sea. There is no mobile application like Google Maps or Siri that will take us to our destination. Therefore we need charts and maps made by survey ships like Sandhayak which make it possible not just for naval ships but also for commercial ships to transit from one place to another," said Navy Chief Kumar.

"The primary role of these ships would be to undertake full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys of ports and harbours. Also in case of a contingency, the ship can be utilised as a hospital ship," he said.

The Navy Chief also mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for Mission SAGAR. SAGAR stands for Security And Growth for All in the Region.

Addressing the gathering he said, "Additionally, in pursuance of our prime minister's larger vision of Sagar, the ship would provide hydrographic assistance to friends and partners across oceans."

Such versatility, which is characteristic of the Navy as a whole makes this ship a unique instrument, he said.

"The Navy over the last decade has launched an equally diverse range of state-of-the-art platforms indigenously. Be it the mighty aircraft carrier Vikrant, the deadly destroyers of the Vishakhapatnam class, the versatile Nilgiri class frigates, the stealthy Kalvari class submarines, the nimble shallow watercraft or the specialised dining support vessels," said Kumar.

"We are carefully crafting a balanced 'Atmanirbhar Force' in service of an ascended Bharat," he added.

The Naval Chief also highlighted the Indian Navy's prowess in building indigenous warships and submarines over the past years and introduced INS Sandhayak as the 34th addition to the Navy's assets.

"The last 33 such warships and submarines that have been commissioned in the last 10 years are all built in India. Sandhayak is the 34th warship to be built in Bharat," he said.

"To leverage this flexibility to undertake a diverse range of roles and tasks, the navy over the last decade has launched an equally diverse range of state-of-the-art platforms indigenously," added the Navy Chief.

The INS Sandhayak is a new version of a previous ship with the same name that served in the Indian Navy from 1981 to 2021.

The new INS Sandhayak is the first of four advanced Survey Vessels. It was launched on December 5, 2021, and delivered to the Indian Navy on December 4, 2023.

(ANI)

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