Thiruvananthapuram: Just as Chandrayaan, Gaganyaan and Mangalyaan mark India’s journeys to outer space, the state of Kerala is represented in India’s ocean exploration missions by G Harikrishnan, a native of Thiruvananthapuram. He is part of the four-member team leading the construction of ‘Matsya 6000’, a submersible vehicle designed to take humans to the ocean’s depths.

What’s ‘Matsya 6000’?

‘Matsya 6000’ is an Indian-made submersible capable of carrying humans to depths of 6,000 metres. The team underwent specialised training in France in underwater exploration, learning how to control the vehicle from the ship. Two Indians, Raju Ramesh and retired naval commander Jatinder Pal Singh, took the first journey in the French submersible ‘Nautile’ to a depth of 5,000 metres in the Atlantic Ocean.

Before Matsya, the remotely operated vehicle ROSUB 6000 was constructed under the leadership of Harikrishnan. He is son of retired Professor Naduvattom Gopalakrishnan and Jalaja. His wife is Asha and they have two children Shabarikrishnan and Nandana.

When and where will Matsya 6000’s deep-sea trial and exploration take place?

In 2027, Matsya 6000 is scheduled to conduct a trial dive near Kattupalli Port, Chennai, at a depth of approximately 500 metres. By the end of 2027, the first exploration will take place in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, 2,700 kilometres south of Kanyakumari in the Indian Ocean. This area is rich in minerals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, cadmium and copper.

The vehicle is 7.1 metres long with a diameter of 2.26 metres and can carry three people – one pilot, one co-pilot and one researcher. A 6,000-metre descent takes about three hours. The submersible can remain underwater for 12 hours at a stretch, and in case of technical issues, it can stay safely submerged for up to 96 hours. The submersible is launched and retrieved using a crane from the ship.

Currently, only five countries possess this kind of underwater technology.