Chennai: As part of the Government of India’s Deep Ocean Mission, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has tasked the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) with the development of the 4th Generation deep-ocean human scientific submersible, “Matsya-6000,” under the Samudrayan Project. This cutting-edge submersible, designed to accommodate three humans within a compact 2.1-meter diameter spherical hull, marks a significant advancement in India’s ocean exploration capabilities.
Following the completion of its design phase, Matsya-6000 underwent the development of essential subsystems, including a main ballast system for diving, thrusters for multidirectional movement, a battery bank for power supply, and syntactic foam for buoyancy. Other sophisticated elements include an advanced power distribution network, state-of-the-art control hardware and software, as well as underwater navigation devices. The communication suite consists of an acoustic modem, underwater telephone, VHF for surface communication, and GPS for precise surface tracking.
Internally, the spherical hull integrates human life-support systems, environmental monitoring displays, navigation joysticks, oceanographic sensors, underwater lighting, and external cameras. All these subsystems, developed indigenously, are undergoing rigorous integration and qualification testing.
To ensure seamless system integration, Matsya-6000 underwent a series of integrated dry tests over a 500-meter operational range. Following these tests, it was transported to the L&T Shipbuilding facility at Kattupalli Port near Chennai between January 27 and February 12, 2025, for wet testing and functionality demonstration.
The wet tests were designed to assess Matsya-6000’s performance across several critical parameters, including the robustness of power and control systems, flotation stability, human support and safety systems, and maneuverability within limited degrees of freedom. The scientific payloads, consisting of multiple advanced oceanographic sensors, were also evaluated. This phase included eight dives in total—five unmanned and three manned—each rigorously qualified to validate life support reliability.
Due to restricted harbour depths, underwater voice communication was less effective, emphasizing the need for further deep-water testing to refine shallow-water operational confidence. Additional optimizations are required in certain areas to achieve peak performance. Despite these challenges, the successful wet test of Matsya-6000 has reinforced confidence for planned shallow-water demonstrations at depths of up to 500 meters by the end of 2025.
The Matsya-6000 testing sequence included:
- Unmanned tests without the buoyancy module
- Unmanned tests with the buoyancy module
- Manned tests with three human occupants inside the submersible, including the buoyancy module
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