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Sandhayak class

INS Sandhayak (J-18) survey vessel at sea.
Class overview
Builders	Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Goa Shipyard, Ltd.
Operators	India
Succeeded by	Makar class
Planned	8
Completed	8
Active	5
Retired	3
General characteristics
Type	Hydrographic survey ship
Displacement	1,929 long tons (1,960 t) full
Length	87.8 m (288 ft 1 in)
Beam	12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draft	3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) 14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	18 officers + 160 enlisted
Armament	1 × Bofors 40 mm gun
Aircraft carried	1 × HAL Chetak helicopter
Aviation facilities	Helipad

The Sandhayak-class survey ships are a series of eight vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata and Goa Shipyard, Ltd., Vasco for the Indian Navy. While Sandhayak, Investigator, Nirdeshak, Nirupak were built in GRSE; Sarveshak, Jamuna, Darshak, Sutlej were built by Goa Shipyard. The vessels equipped with four survey motorboats, two small boats and are powered by two diesel engines with a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). They have a helicopter deck and are also armed with a Bofors 40 mm/60 gun mount for self-defense.

The ships are equipped with variety of next-generation surveying systems fitted onboard including multi-beam swath echo sounding system, differential GPS, 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.

Working as part of Indian Naval Hydrographic Department the Sandhayak-class survey ships are equipped with a range of surveying, navigational and communication systems. 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. The ships are also equipped with ROV, AUV & USV.

Service history

Nirdeshak was decommissioned on 19 December 2014.

The lead ship of the class Sandhayak was decommissioned on 4 June 2021 after 40 years in service.

The third ship in the class Nirupak was decommissioned after 38 years of service on 29 January 2024 in Visakhapatnam.

Ships in the class

Gallery

• Sandhayak at sea.
• Nirdeshak during a survey mission.
• Investigator at sea.
• Survey tasking being undertaken by Southern Naval Command ships Jamuna and Sarvekshak on World Hydrography Day 2014.
• Sarvekshak en-route to Mauritius

See also

• List of active Indian Navy ships
• INS Sagardhwani

Citations

1. "GRSE_Coffee Table Book_low.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
2. Saunders 2002, p. 316.
3. "INS Jamuna progresses joint hydrographic operations off Sri Lanka". PSU Watch. 20 February 2020.
4. "Indian navy ship on goodwill visit".
5. "INS Sarvekshak".
6. "Survey ship Decommissioned". New Indian Express. 20 December 2014.
7. "Fortnightly E-News Brief of National Maritime Foundation" (PDF).
8. "INS Sandhayak to be Decommissioned on 04 Jun 21". PIB. 3 June 2021.
9. Bhattacharjee, Sumnit (30 January 2024). "INS Nirupak decommissioned at Visakhapatnam after 38 years of service". The Hindu.
10. "Kochi to be home for survey ship INS Investigator". OnManorama. 30 May 2019.
11. "Navy deserter caught at the Mumbai airport". mid-day. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
12. "Kashmir students arrive in Kochi on a goodwill visit". The Hindu. 18 September 2011. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 June 2016.

References

• Saunders, Stephen (2002). Jane's Fighting Ships 2002–2003. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-71062-4328.

External links

• "J 18 Sandhayak class". GlobalSecurity.
• "Sandhayak class". Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013.

External images
Sandhayak class survey ship
INS Sandhayak
INS Sutlej
INS Darshak

v t e Ship classes of the Indian Navy
Aircraft carriers	Vikrant (1961) Viraat Vikramaditya Vikrant (2013) Vishal
Destroyers	Hunt Q and R Rajput Delhi Kolkata Visakhapatnam Project 18
Frigates	River Blackwood Whitby Leopard Nilgiri Godavari Brahmaputra Talwar Shivalik Nilgiri Project 17B
Corvettes	Bathurst Arnala Durg Veer Abhay Khukri Kora Kamorta ASW-SWC Next Generation Missile Vessels
Fast attack craft	Vidyut Chamak NGFAC
Nuclear submarines	Attack Charlie Akula-II Indian SSN Ballistic missile Arihant S5**
Conventional submarines	Kalvari Vela Sindhughosh Shishumar Kalvari Project 75I
Midget submarines	Indian Navy Swimmer Delivery Vehicle
Amphibious warfare ships	Kumbhir Magar Shardul Jalashwa Indian MRSV
Research and survey vessels	Makar Sandhayak Sagardhwani Dhruv GRSE class
Patrol craft	Ajay Seaward Sukanya Super Dvora Mk II Trinkat Bangaram Car Nicobar Saryu
Minesweeper	Bangor Ton Ham Mahé Pondicherry GSL Mine Counter-Measure Vessels
Replenishment ship	Ambika Komandarm Fedko Aditya Deepak HSL
Tugboats	Anand Anjan Arga Balram Bahadur Bhim Gaj IRS Bhishm Madan Singh
Ferries	GSL Manoram Shalimar
Barges	Poshak Puran Vipul Modest Corporated Hooghly Sahayak GSL
Torpedo recovery	Astravahini Astradharani
Dredgers	Nikaraksha
Training	Tir ABG
Decommissioned Under construction Planned List of active Indian Navy ships Submarines of the Indian Navy List of ships of the Indian Navy Future of the Indian Navy

• Sandhayak-class survey ships
• Survey ships of the Indian Navy
• Auxiliary research ship classes