India’s first underwater museum to open in Puducherry

The country’s first underwater museum is all set to come up off Puducherry coast. The new addition is expected to give a fillip to the tourism sector in the Union territory.

INS Cuddalore, a minesweeper decommissioned in March after it travelled 30,000 nautical miles in 30 years, will be turned into a museum. The minesweeper will be deployed in the seabed 7 km off Puducherry at a depth of 26 metres. The 60-metre long and 12-metre wide vessel will be a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkelling. The Navy has agreed to gift the vessel to promote tourism in Puducherry.

The divers will follow trails and routes in and out of the ship which will guide them through the underwater experience. Water buoys will be deployed on the sea surface. The 29-metre tall mast of the ship will be jutting out to allow tourists to take boat rides around it.