INS Darshak conducting joint hydrographic survey of Sri Lankan bay

The Indian Navy's hydrographic survey ship, INS Darshak, jointly with Sri Lankan Navy, is undertaking a hydrographic survey of Weligama Bay.

The announcement was made by the Indian Navy on 20 April 2017 on a social media platform.

INS Darshak, which is on a two-month deployment in the Sri Lankan waters, jointly with the Sri Lankan Navy is surveying the bay, which was last studied in the year 1901.

The Eastern Naval Command's (ENC) vessel had left for Sri Lanka on 3 March 2017. The vessel is also carrying an integral Chetak helicopter which would be extensively deployed during the course of the survey.

About INS Darshak

• INS Darshak is a hydrographic survey ship in the Indian Navy. The vessel is under the Eastern Naval Command.

• It is fitted with the latest state-of-the-art survey equipment like multi-beam system, side scan sonar and a fully automated digital surveying and processing system.

• The vessel was built by Goa Shipyard Limited.

• In 2001, it was commissioned into the naval service at Visakhapatnam under the command of Captain S.S. Karnik.

• It is the Indian Navy's eighth hydrographic survey ship to have been indigenously designed and constructed.

• It is the first of the Darshak class of ships and has a complement of 20 officers and 200 sailors and is currently commanded by Captain Peush Pawsey.

• In 2015, the ship conducted hydrographic survey in Seychelles for a period of 1 month concentrating off the coast of Port Victoria and in nearby areas.

• In 2016, the ship completed a hydrographic survey of Tanga Port, Tanzania coast for the Government of Tanzania. Later in the same year, the INS Darshak also carried out survey work off the waters of Mauritius to prepare two new charts of the Mauritian waters as per charting scheme agreed the two governments.