GRSE becomes first Indian shipyard to deliver 100th Warship

Defence PSU delivered the 100th warship to the Indian Navy on March 30, 2019 and became the first Indian shipyard to make and deliver 100 warships to the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Mauritius Coast Guard
GRSE becomes first Indian shipyard to deliver 100th Warship
Kolkata: GRSE, a miniratna-I and India's leading warship building company delivered its 100th warship to the Indian Navy on Saturday, March 30, 2019. INS Ajay, the first warship that GRSE delivered was way back in 1961. In 2019, the 100th warship, "IN LCU L-56" was formally "Handed Over" by Rear Admiral V. K. Saxena, IN (Retd.) Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE to the Commanding Officer of the ship, Lt. Cdr. Gopinath Narayanan of Indian Navy at the Ceremony held in GRSE. Brigadier SY Deshmukh, CSO(Tech), A&N Command carried out Final Inspection of the Ship prior to acceptance by the Indian Navy. This makes GRSE the first Indian shipyard to make and deliver 100 warships to the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Mauritius Coast Guard.

100% Indigenously designed and built

IN LCU L56 is the sixth Landing Craft Utility vessel of an order of eight such vessels from the Indian Navy. The entire design of these LCU Mark IV ships has been developed in-house by GRSE as per requirements specified by Indian Navy. The construction of the balance two ships is progressing as per the schedule. LCU Mk-IV ship is an amphibious ship with its primary role being transportation and deployment of Main Battle Tanks, Armored Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. These ships based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.

Specifications of IN LCU L56

The LCU is 63 m in length and 11 m wide and has a displacement of 830 T with a low draught of 1.7 m. It can achieve a speed of 15 knots. The LCU is designed to accommodate 216 personnel and is equipped with two Indigenous CRN 91 Guns to provide artillery fire support during landing operations. The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems like the Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).

A week of achievements for GRSE

Earlier in the week only on March 27, 2019, GRSE had handed over its 99th warship, "ICGS Priyadarshini", an advanced "Fast Patrol Vessel" to the Indian Coast Guard. GRSE is executing an order for five Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard and the ship ICGS Priyadarshini, is the first in the series. The balance four ships are in advanced stages of construction. The FPV is a medium-range surface vessel capable for operations in Maritime Zones of India. These fuel-efficient & powerful platforms are designed to perform multipurpose operations like patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and rescue operations. The entire design of these FPVs has been developed in-house by GRSE as per requirements specified by Indian Coast Guard. The ship is 50 Meter long, 7.5 Meters wide with a displacement of around 308 Tonnes. The ship is designed for a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1500 nautical miles and is equipped with 03 nos. Main Engines with Advanced Control Systems, Water Jet Units and an "Integrated Bridge System" integrating all Communication and Navigation systems. The ships are also fitted with 40/60 Gun as the main armament and will also have improved habitability features with fully air-conditioned modular accommodation for 35 personnel.

Big on books, High on delivery

Defence PSU currently has a strong order book of Rs. 21,700 crore approximately. equipping the shipyard with a deep pool of revenue-generating projects. 14 ships across 5 projects including 04 Nos. Survey Vessels (Large), won on a competitive basis, are presently under construction. GRSE has also been declared successful bidder in competitive bidding for another 08 ASWSWC ships for the Indian Navy. Given the amount of time required to design build and deliver a vessel, delivery of 8 warships in 22 months, from June 2017 to March 2019, is no mean feat which GRSE has achieved. GRSE's R&D Department has been recognized by Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology.

A multidisciplinary strong design team of 100 plus design engineers are working continuously towards developing concept designs for ships that can cater to current & future requirements of Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard, GRSE continues to raise its bar higher in the sphere of maritime engineering excellence. The ace shipbuilder has set sail towards a growth trajectory in line with its vision to be a world leader with focus on four-fold increase in VOP, in next 4-5 years, increased thrust on export of warships, incorporation of latest technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Analytics) in various areas of operations to improve internal efficiencies & profit margins. Continuous research and innovation, excellent product quality, lean thinking and a strong corporate structure powered by an outstanding human capital promise a great future for GRSE.

Dignitaries present at the ceremony

Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Vice Admiral BK Verma, AVSM, ADC, Commander in Chief, A&N Command, Vice Admiral MS Pawar, AVSM, VSM, Dy Chief of Naval Staff, Apurva Chandra, IAS, Director General (Acquisition) at Ministry of Defence, Cmde IB Uthaiah, VSM, Principal Director Ship Production, Sarvjit Singh Dogra, Director (Finance), Asit Kumar Nanda, Director (Personnel) and Cmde. Sanjeev Nayyar, IN (Retd), Director (Shipbuilding) and other Senior Officials of GRSE, Indian Navy were present at the Occasion of delivery of GRSE 100th Warship.

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