Docked at Kandla port,mines minister dedicates Samudra Ratnakar to nation

Furnished with the latest technological equipments,it can sail for 45 days at a stretch and accommodate 73 persons.

Union Minister for Mines Dinsha Patel on Saturday dedicated a Rs 650-crore deep sea exploration ship to the nation. The ship Samudra Ratnakar is currently docked at Kandla Port.

The ship was acquired by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) last week for undertaking deep sea surveys and exploration of minerals like copper and gold etc. lying in deep sea.

The ship,manufactured by the Hyundai Heavy Industries,South Korea,has the potential to explore up to a depth of 600 metres.

Furnished with the latest technological equipments,it can sail for 45 days at a stretch and accommodate 73 persons. It will be docked at Chennai.

GSI has entered into an agreement with the Shipping Corporation of India for management,operation and maintenance of the ship Samudra Ratnakar.

The new ship,according to GSI officials,is the first-of-its-kind in South-East Asia.

So far,GSI was carrying out exploration and survey activities in deep sea with the help of cargo ships that were converted for exploration activities.

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So far,GSI has reported to have surveyed over 95 per cent of 2012 million sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ),including around 1,05,000 sq kms of territorial waters of India.

These surveys were conducted in coastal waters of Arabian sea,the northern part of Indian ocean,Andaman-Nicobar and Bay of Bengal through its three ships RV Samudra Kaustubh,RV Samudra Shaudhikama and RV Samudra Manthan.

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