Chennai: India’s deep-ocean human scientific submersible, MATSYA-6000, completed its unmanned trials at the L&T Shipyard in Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu, on Friday, marking a vital step forward for the nation’s flagship Samudrayaan Project.
The trial was conducted in the presence of Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), alongside G. A. Ramadass, Director of the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).
During the exercise, the MoES Secretary systematically assessed the flotation, submerged stability, ballast systems, and various subcomponents of the vehicle. According to the ministry, MATSYA-6000 completed the evaluations strictly in accordance with the prescribed test protocol, clearing the path for its next phase of advanced testing.
Designed and indigenously developed by NIOT, MATSYA-6000 is India’s fourth-generation human submersible engineered to carry three crew members inside a compact 2.1-metre diameter spherical hull. Under the aegis of the Samudrayaan Project, the vessel is designed to plunge to depths of up to 6,000 metres, enabling researchers to explore deep-sea mineral resources and marine biodiversity.
The submersible features an intricate assembly of indigenous subsystems, including a main ballast system for diving operations, multi-directional thrusters, an onboard battery bank for power supply, and syntactic foam for structural buoyancy.
The platform is further equipped with a sophisticated power distribution network, cutting-edge control hardware and software, and advanced underwater navigation instruments.
For surface and sub-surface communications, the vehicle relies on an acoustic modem, an underwater telephone, and VHF radio equipment, backed by underwater acoustic positioning systems and surface GPS tracking.
Inside the pressure hull, specialised human life-support systems, critical environmental monitoring displays, and navigation joysticks have been integrated. Externally, the vessel carries high-intensity underwater lighting, cameras, and an array of oceanographic sensors.
MATSYA-6000 was originally transported to the Kattupalli facility in 2025 to undergo wet tests and demonstrate operational functionality. Since then, it has undergone a structured series of controlled manned and unmanned trials focusing on power network robustness, vehicle stability, human safety systems, and manoeuvrability, specifically forward and reverse motion.
Testing has also rigorously scrutinised navigation and communication systems, alongside scientific payloads featuring multiple oceanographic sensors.
Simultaneously, the MoES Secretary and the NIOT Director reviewed the ongoing dry-dock repair and refit activities of the research vessel Sagar Manjusha at the Kattupalli shipyard.
Operated by NIOT since its construction in 2006, the 60-metre-long multidisciplinary ocean research vessel has an 11-metre beam and a gross tonnage of 1,065–1,075 tonnes. Capable of accommodating 11 scientists, 8 officers, and 10 crew members, the ship supports coastal and offshore survey missions through specialised onboard laboratories.
Its scientific equipment includes a sub-bottom profiler to map soft sediment against seabed rock, a gravity corer to extract sub-floor geological and mineral samples, an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler to measure underwater current velocity and direction, and a CTD device capable of profiling water conditions down to depths of 1,000 metres.
(IANS)
