Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd has delivered the Survey Vessel (Large) Ikshak to the Indian Navy on 14 August 2025. The vessel is the third in a series of four Sandhayak-class ships being constructed by GRSE. The previous ships in the series, INS Sandhayak and INS Nirdeshak, were delivered in December 2023 and October 2024 respectively.
The Ikshak is 110 metres long and is designed for coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys, including port and harbour approaches, navigation channel determination, and collection of oceanographic and geographical data for defence applications. It can carry a helicopter, participate in low-intensity combat, operate as a hospital ship, and be deployed for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. The vessel is propelled by two marine diesel engines with fixed-pitch propellers and is fitted with bow and stern thrusters for low-speed manoeuvring during survey operations.
This is the 802nd ship and 113th warship built by GRSE, and the 75th delivered to the Indian Navy. The shipyard’s association with the Navy began in 1961 with the delivery of INS Ajay, the first indigenous warship.
The Ikshak will join INS Sandhayak and INS Nirdeshak once commissioned and will provide survey data for naval operations and commercial shipping. The vessel was accepted on behalf of the Navy by Commodore Arvind Chari, CSO (Tech) (South).
Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd is a defence public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Defence. It specialises in the construction of warships and auxiliary vessels for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, and has delivered over 800 ships since its inception.
