KOCHI (PTI): Indian Naval Ship Investigator, a hydrographic survey ship, after completing a stint of more than six years at the Andaman and Nicobar Command has now been placed under the Flag Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command (SNC) and re-based at Kochi.

The ship was welcomed to Kochi by Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of Staff, SNC at South Jetty, Naval Base on Wednesday, a defence release said here.

The 1,900 tonne ship was built at Garden Reach Ship Builders, Calcutta and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 11, 1990.

It is commanded by Commander R Abdul Rahiman and has a complement of 20 officers and 200 sailors.

The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art survey equipment, including a Deep Sea Multibeam Echosounder, Single Beam Echosounders, Side Scan Sonars and modern survey software suites.

In her secondary role, the ship can be converted into a 40-bed hospital ship during war or other contingencies, according to the release.

In its 29 years, the vessel has carried out numerous hydrographic surveys in Indian as well as foreign waters.