INS Nistar Joins Multinational Exercise Pacific Reach 2025

India’s indigenous Diving Support Vessel (DSV) INS Nistar marked its maiden participation in the biennial Exercise Pacific Reach 2025, hosted in Singapore, involving over 40 nations focused on submarine rescue and maritime safety. INS Nistar officially started its participation in Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 on 15 September 2025 in Singapore. Commissioned in July 2025, INS Nistar is India’s latest step towards maritime self-reliance, designed and constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, with more than 80% indigenous components.

INS Nistar Joins Multinational Exercise Pacific Reach 2025

This development signifies India’s expanding international role in naval cooperation, technological self-reliance, and disaster readiness, vital themes for national security.

• Pacific Reach is an Asia-Pacific submarine rescue exercise initiated in 1996. The 2025 edition features a two-phase structure:
• Harbour Phase: Held at Changi Naval Base, this includes technical briefings, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE), medical symposiums, and cross-deck visits among participating navies. Discussions centre on best practices and alignment of procedures.
• Sea Phase: Conducted in the South China Sea, INS Nistar, acting as the mothership for India’s Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), participates in live submarine rescue drills, intervention operations, and mass evacuation exercises with international partners.

Do you know? The original INS Nistar was a Soviet-built rescue vessel that helped recover important documents from the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi during the 1971 war.

INS Nistar: Capabilities

• Hosts India’s Submarine Rescue Unit (East) and supports rapid deployment.
• Equipped with advanced side scan sonar, work-class and observation-class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and deep-sea diving systems.
• Enhances India’s ability to respond to underwater emergencies, able to operate DSRVs up to 650–1,000 meters depth.

Fun Fact: INS Nistar has a helipad, hospital with hyperbaric oxygen therapy facilities, and a 15-ton subsea crane to aid search and rescue missions.

Strategic Significance

India’s active role in Pacific Reach 2025:

• Strengthens naval cooperation, interoperability, and readiness for joint submarine rescue operations.
• Promotes India’s expertise in deep-sea salvage and intervention, aligning with global best practices.
• Showcases the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, improving indigenous defence manufacturing and maritime safety.

More than 120 Indian MSMEs contributed parts and technology for building INS Nistar, showcasing the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Exam-Relevant Fact Box

• INS Nistar is India’s first indigenously designed DSV, commissioned in July 2025. Exercise commenced on 15 September 2025 in Singapore.
• Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 hosts 40+ countries, focusing on submarine rescue and safety.
• The exercise underscores India’s leadership in humanitarian submarine rescue and Indo-Pacific maritime security.

INS Nistar can support deep-sea rescue operations and saturation diving up to 300 meters, and its drones (ROVs) can dive as deep as 1,000 meters.