India launched its first indigenously built Ocean Research Vessel, ORV Sagar Manthan, on 09 Sep 2026 at the Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata. The vessel was constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, marking the country's first domestically built ORV of its kind. Union Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh virtually attended the launch ceremony, with his wife Manju Singh performing the traditional naming ceremony. The launch came about five months after the vessel's keel laying, underscoring the shipyard's ability to meet construction timelines. Built under the Deep Ocean Mission's Vertical-4 at a cost of approximately Rs 840 crore, ORV Sagar Manthan is an all-weather, multidisciplinary research platform measuring 89.50 metres in length and 18.80 metres in width, with a gross tonnage of 5,900 tonnes and a top speed of 14 knots. It is equipped with dynamic positioning, multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic systems, sub-bottom profiling, weather radar, drop keels, and facilities for deploying Remotely Operated Vehicles and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. Once delivered, the vessel will be capable of conducting Underway Swath Multibeam and Geophysical Seismic surveys in coastal seas and deep waters up to a maximum depth of six kilometres. Designed to operate in extreme oceanic environments, including the Southern Ocean, ORV Sagar Manthan has a projected service life of 30 years.