Mohammad Hanief
Blue Economy addresses the economic development revolving around the marine ecosystems that anchor local livelihoods and foster systemic resilience towards global challenges like climate change, poverty, waste management and harnessing marine- related technologies.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 “Life Below Water” implies that economic development is inclusive and environmentally sound and balances multiple dimensions of socio-economic growth in a very intrusive way without disturbing existing biodiversity and it can be achieved by working on societal challenges, improving framework policies on environmental planning, and gradually assessing coastal management tasks based on climate change and biodiversity strategies.
The depth of the seas is a treasure trove for any country. For India, with its three sides surrounded by the oceans and around 30 per cent of the country’s population living in coastal areas, ocean is a major economic factor supporting fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and blue trade.
While the huge ports help in vibrant trade, the blue economy, inclusive of fishing and other activities is extremely beneficial for India. In addition to it, the depths of the seas have much more to offer. India’s exclusive economic zone spreads over 2.2 million sq. km. and the deep sea lies “unexplored and unutilized”. Understanding the seas would also go a long way in mitigating the crisis of climate change.
Considering importance of the oceans on sustainability, the United Nations (UN) has declared the decade 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. India has a unique maritime position. Its 7517 km long coastline is home to nine coastal states and 1382 islands. The government of India’s vision of New India by 2030 enunciated in February 2019 highlighted the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.
With this step India joined the elite club of nations such as USA, Russia, Japan, France and China in having such underwater vehicles for carrying out subsea activities.
India’s Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) is a visionary initiative aimed at exploring and harnessing the immense potential of the ocean’s depths. Among its groundbreaking objectives, DOM will deploy an indigenous submersible with a three-member crew to reach a depth of 6,000 meters in the ocean, marking India’s first foray into the profound oceanic abyss.
The Deep Ocean Mission principally led by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), encompasses six pillars of development of deep-sea mining technologies and a crewed submersible for exploring depths of 6,000 meters, Ocean climate change advisory services, involving extensive ocean observations and modeling, technological innovations for deep-sea biodiversity exploration and conservation.
It will also focus on deep-ocean survey to identify potential sites of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphides mineralization and harnessing energy and freshwater resources from the ocean as it will also establishment of an advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology.
Multiple MoES institutes, including the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), collaborate with national institutes and academia to achieve Deep Ocean Mission objectives.
The Samudrayaan mission will stimulate further expansion in the exploration and utilization of ocean resources, particularly for clean energy and drinking water, leading to the growth of the blue economy.
This mission is a comprehensive program involving multiple ministries and disciplines. It emphasizes the advancement of deep-sea technology, such as the development of manned submersibles, the procurement of a dedicated research vessel for ocean exploration, and the enhancement of capabilities in the field of Marine Biology.
Matsya 6000 is equipped with scientific sensors, tools, and an operational endurance of 12 hours (extendable to 96 hours in emergencies). The submersible’s design is complete, with testing and experimentation at a depth of 500 meters scheduled in the upcoming year.
The National Institute of Ocean Technology conducted deep-sea locomotion trials with the ‘Varaha’ underwater mining system at a depth of 5,270 meters in the central Indian Ocean. Varaha collected polymetallic nodules during the trial, marking a significant milestone.
The Deep-sea exploration faces immense challenges, including high pressure, soft and muddy ocean bed surfaces, power supply constraints, visibility limitations, temperature variations, and corrosion. NIOT and MoES are committed to addressing these complexities. Major objectives of Deep Ocean Mission is to address issues arising from long term changes in the ocean due to climate change, to develop technologies for deep-sea mission of living (biodiversity) and non-living (minerals) resources, to develop underwater vehicles and underwater robotics.
Also it has to provide ocean climate change advisory services, to identify technological innovations and conservation methods for sustainable utilization of marine bio- resources, to develop offshore based desalination techniques, to develop renewable energy generation techniques and to provide clean drinking water and explore the avenues of desalination of water as well as extracting minerals from the ocean belt.
Targeting a depth of 6,000 meters serves a strategic purpose. India aims to sustainably extract valuable resources such as polymetallic nodules and sulphides, with ISA allocating regions in the central Indian Ocean for exploration.
Polymetallic nodules, rich in metals like copper, manganese, nickel, iron, and cobalt, are found around 5,000 meters deep. Polymetallic sulphides occur at approximately 3,000 meters. By operating at 6,000 meters, India can effectively cover depths of 3,000 to 5,500 meters, spanning its Exclusive Economic Zone and the central Indian Ocean.
Exploring the deep oceans involves extreme pressure conditions, with water exerting tremendous force. Equipment must be meticulously designed to withstand these conditions. The soft and muddy ocean bed complicates landing and maneuvering for heavy vehicles.
Electronics and instruments must endure underwater conditions, unlike space where objects are designed to function in a vacuum. Extracting materials from the ocean bed necessitates significant power and energy, with the need to transport extracted minerals to the surface.
India’s flagship deep-ocean submersible ‘Matsya6000’ combines features of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous remote vehicles (AUVs). It accommodates a crew of three, is constructed from titanium alloy, and is designed to withstand high pressures.
Varaha is India’s deep-ocean mining system, operating on the flexible riser technique. It successfully conducted deep-sea locomotion trials at a depth of 5,270 meters, marking a world record. India is poised to possess a comprehensive underwater vehicle ecosystem, encompassing deep-water ROVs, polar ROVs, AUVs, deep-water coring systems, and more.
India’s Deep Ocean Mission is a pioneering endeavour to explore and harness the potential of the ocean’s depths. With Matsya6000 and Varaha, India is poised to join the selective nations conducting deep-ocean exploration and mining. This mission will encourage increased exploration and use of ocean resources for clean energy, drinking water, and the blue economy as a result of this mission.
The Mission is a multi-ministerial, multi-disciplinary initiative that focuses on deep-sea technology in development, such as manned submersible development, the procurement of a research vessel for ocean exploration, and capacity building in Marine Biology. Developed countries have already completed similar ocean missions, and India’s success with Samudrayaan might make it the first developing country to complete a deep ocean expedition.
