Indian Naval Ship (INS) Investigator a hydrographic survey ship after completing a stint of more than six years at the Andaman and Nicobar Command has now been placed under the Flag Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command (SNC) and re-based at Kochi. She was welcomed to Kochi by Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of Staff, SNC at South Jetty, Naval Base on 29 May 2019.
The 1900 tonne ship was built at Garden Reach Ship Builders, Calcutta and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 11 Jan 1990. She is commanded by Commander R Abdul Rahiman and has a complement of 20 officers and 200 sailors. The ship is fitted with state of art survey equipment, including a Deep Sea Multibeam Echosounder, Single Beam Echosounders, Side Scan Sonars and modern survey software suites. She carries four 9.2 mtrs Survey Motor Boats (SMBs) for undertaking survey in shallow waters. The ship also has an integral Chetak helicopter for supporting survey operations. Her primary role is to undertake hydrographic surveys for the production of navigation charts. In her secondary role, the ship can be converted into a 40-bed hospital ship during war or other contingencies.
The ship is the sixth in the history of Indian Hydrography to carry this illustrious name and in her 29 years of commission, the ship has carried out numerous hydrographic surveys in Indian as well as foreign waters. With her and her predecessors having a surveying history of about three centuries, INS Investigator is aptly called ‘The Legend’.
