A ship will be built for exploring the seabed as part of India’s massive Deep Ocean Mission project, M. Ravichandran, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.
Speaking to the media during his visit to National Institute of Ocean Technology, he said Cabinet clearance for the project had been received and the work on constructing the ship would begin in six months. “It will take about three years to build the ship and the estimated cost is ₹1,200 crore. We will finalise shipyard in the next few months and it will be built with indigenous components,” he said.
He noted that the Ministry is planning to develop technology for studying the seabed at a depth of 6,000 metres for minerals like manganese, copper and cobalt. This will be done after taking permissions and measures to ensure that the ecosystem is not disturbed.
“Under the Deep Ocean Mission project, we will also look at the hydrothermal vent area and hunt for the active vent. This will help in knowing what kind of metals are present underneath and how much of these exist. Then, we will see how to tap energy from ocean and harness it,” he said.
He also said plans were being made to extend the continental shelf of the country. “When the sediments under the sea get extended beyond our land, then up to 350 nautical miles we can claim that area. We are in the process of taking this forward too,” he added.
