Visakhapatnam | India's first indigenously built Diving Support Vessel, Nistar, was commissioned here on Friday, marking a major maritime achievement.

Nistar was originally built on March 29, 1971, playing a crucial role during the Indo-Pakistan war, identifying Pakistan's sunken submarine Gazi outside Visakhapatnam harbour and Eastern operations.

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said that the new Nistar will carry forward its legacy with advanced saturation dive systems and capability to rescue deep submergence rescue vessels, including submarines.

"Old ships never die, they always return in upgraded form," said Tripathi, during the commissioning ceremony.

Nistar is both technologically and operationally significant, enhancing India's and regional partners' submarine rescue capabilities, with India set to emerge as a preferred partner in submarine rescue globally, said the CNS.

Tripathi said that only a few navies worldwide have such capabilities, and fewer nations develop them indigenously, with Nistar boosting India's maritime-based industry.

Participating in the event, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth said the Indian Navy has a history of glorious victories and noted that Nistar will enhance India's global identity, proving that the Indian Navy stands as an equal among world powers.

He highlighted that the Nistar that was decommissioned in 1989 was weighing 800 tonnes, is now revived with a weight of 10,500 tonnes, and is 120 meters long, reflecting Viksit Bharat's (Developed India) technological transformation.

'India shifted from importer to exporter', exporting defence goods worth Rs 23,622 crores and targeting Rs 50,000 crores, achieved through the efforts of 120 MSME sector personnel, said Seth.

Further, Seth reiterated that India is poised to become the third-largest economy after surpassing Germany.