INS Sandhayak Visits Malaysia: Strengthening India’s Hydrographic Diplomacy

Overview: INS Sandhayak, India’s indigenously built Survey Vessel Large, made its first overseas port call at Port Klang, Malaysia. The visit strengthens India’s regional hydrographic cooperation under the MAHASAGAR vision, enhancing maritime mapping, data-sharing, and capacity building. It reflects India’s growing role as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific.

Riyaz

Jul-21-2025

INS Sandhayak Visits Malaysia: Strengthening India’s Hydrographic Diplomacy

The maiden overseas port of call was undertaken by the INS Sandhayak, an Indian developable Survey Vessel Large (SVL) that called in at Port Klang, Malaysia on 16, 18 and 19 July 2025. The visit is an indication of India's regional hydrographic cooperation under Indian Naval Hydrographic Department (INHD). Ins Sandhayak was commissioned 2024 in February and is suitable to be used in coastal and deep-sea survey, oceanographic, SAR and humanitarian missions. It involved sharing of knowledge, technical collaboration and interaction within the frame of the MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision. This enhances India maritime diplomacy and capacity building in South East Asia.

Context:

India is becoming more active in the Indo-Pacific in terms of maritime capacity-building and hydrographic collaboration.
This visit is one of the elements of the Indian vision of MAHASAGAR, the development of maritime security, and growth on the regional level.

About INS Sandhayak:

Feature	Details
Type	Survey Vessel Large (SVL)
Class	Sandhayak-class
Commissioned	February 2024
Designed & Built by	Indian shipyards under "Aatmanirbhar Bharat"
Capabilities	- Coastal & deep-water surveying - Oceanographic data collection - Search & Rescue (SAR) - Humanitarian assistance with onboard hospital & helicopter support

Important Goals of Malaysia Visit:

Enhance hydrographic relationships in Southeast Asian states.
Encourage cooperation in the field of techniques of the survey and maritime mapping.
Share information and equipment on hydrographic surveying.
Restate the strategic reach of India in terms of institutional and official activities.

Strategic Vision – MAHASAGAR:

Element	Description
Full Form	Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions
Purpose	To enhance India’s regional maritime cooperation and security architecture.
Focus	- Maritime safety - Capacity building - Collaborative hydrographic missions

Implications:

Increases India's soft power using non military navy diplomacy.
Promotes both inter-operability and data-sharing between the regional navies.
Assists the lesser countries in maritime domain awareness (MDA) and response to disaster.
Favours India as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Conclusion:

Port call of INS Sandhayak to Malaysia is a demonstration of the increased role of India in hydrographic diplomacy and safe, collaborative Indo-Pacific.Sandhayak-class ships are key to India aspirations on Blue Economy, outreach to navies, and even regional maritime cooperation with the MAHASAGAR initiative.