Captain S.K. Jha

The INS Nirdeshak

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Nirdeshak will call into Port Victoria on Friday November 21,  as part of a month-long mission to map out waters around Mahe and Praslin.

The crew of the Nirdeshak, a vessel specifically designed to conduct hydrographical surveys, will be working alongside the Hydrographic and Topographic Brigade of Seychelles until December 18.

While in Seychelles, the ship will carry out a detailed survey of the waters around Praslin and Mahe, including approaches to Victoria harbour. The data collected will be used for making charts of the area, a critical requirement for safe navigation of vessels calling into the port, according to a press release from the Indian High Commission.

The commanding officer of the Nirdeshak, Captain S.K. Jha, and visiting officers from India are on Friday expected to call on Vice-President James Michel, Foreign Affairs Minister Jeremie Bonnelame and Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) Chief of Staff Colonel Leopold Payet, among other high-ranking officials.

The vessel will depart for Praslin on Saturday November 22, for survey tasks, but will return to Port Victoria on December 16.

The ship’s visit follows the short stay of a similar Indian vessel in August, the INS Investigator, which came to Seychelles to lay the groundwork for the Nirdeshak’s planned surveys, in addition to bringing a donation of munitions to the SPDF on behalf of the Indian government.

Entering into India’s naval service in 1983, the Nirdeshak has been extensively used to conduct hydrographic surveys in the waters around India.  This is the ship’s first visit to Seychelles.

Captain S.K. Jha, commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1978, is an experienced hydrographer with 26 years of naval service and over 50 surveys to his credit, the press release said.

The ship will be open to the public on November 22 from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on December 17 from 2.30 p.m.. to 6:30 p.m.

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