West Bengal-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) has begun the construction of new warships for the Indian Navy (IN). In an official ceremony held last week, GRSE laid the Keel for the fourth Survey Vessel Large (SVL) and second & third ships of Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) for the Indian Navy in the presence of senior navy and industry officials.
The Keel laying is a major milestone in the construction of ships, as it marks the formal commencement of the erection process of the warships on the building berth.
GRSE was awarded contracts for four SVL and eight ASW SWC in 2018 and 2022, respectively. It has subcontracted part construction of three ships of SVL and four ships of ASW SWC to L&T, Kattupalli.
Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, said Keel laying of three warships together in one day signified the enhanced indigenous production capability and capacity to ramp up the pace of warship construction in the country. Today, 39 out of 41 warships on order by the IN are being built indigenously.
The ASW SWC warships will augment the Navy’s ASW capability against submarine threats. These warships will be fitted with a state-of-the-art Hull Mounted Sonar and Low-Frequency Variable Depth Sonar, in addition to being armed with torpedoes, rockets and guns.
The SVL ships will be fitted with state-of-the-art equipment such as Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Remotely Operated Vehicles, Single/ Multi-Beam Echo Sounders and Data Acquisition and Processing Systems (DAPS).