GRSE’s 100th Warship IN LCU “L-56” Commissioned

Visakhapatnam: A Sixth of the Class of Eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU), the 100^th warship built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) has been commissioned on Monday at Visakhapatnam by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, AVSM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.  The ceremony was attended by Rear Admiral VK Saxena, IN(Retd), CMD, GRSE and other senior officials of the Indian Navy and GRSE.

Specifications

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). It's 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.

The entire design of these LCU Mark IV ships has been developed in-house by GRSE as per requirements specified by Indian Navy. GRSE's association with the Indian Navy is long and strong as over the last six decades the shipyard has been building warships and other vessels for the country's Navy and Coast Guard. Over last 59 years, GRSE has built around 780 platforms which include 100 warships to Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard & Government of Mauritius which is the highest number of warships built & delivered by any shipyard in the country. From building 05-ton boats to 24600 ton Fleet Tanker, GRSE has done it all and has proved its mettle as a pioneer warship builder of the nation. 67 of the 100 warships were for the Indian Navy and are varied in their range and scope.

90% indigenous content in LCU

The LCU Mark IV Class of ships are fitted with close to 90% indigenous content in line with the Govt. of India's 'Make in India' initiative towards achieving self-reliance and indigenisation. The ships are equipped with Bow Ramps to enable loading/unloading of combat equipment and vehicles upon beaching. The ships are designed with ballasting and de-ballasting arrangements to achieve the desired trim for smooth beaching operations. Two guns are also installed to provide Artillery fire support during landing operations. Substantial modifications to improve the ergonomics, habitability and layout of critical compartments have been implemented on this ship. The Mark IV LCU Vessels are a further improved version of the Mark III LCU vessels presently being used by the Indian Navy. The first ship of the Mark IV LCU Vessels IN LCU L-51 was commissioned into Indian Navy during March 2017. The construction of the balance two ships to be delivered to Navy is progressing as per the schedule.

GRSE going strong with a consolidated order book

Currently, GRSE has a strong order book of over Rs.27500 Crore equipping the shipyard with a deep pool of revenue-generating projects 22 ships which include 08 ASWSWC, 03 P17A, 01 ASWC, 04 Nos. Survey Vessels (Large), 02 LCUs, 04 FPVs are in various stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard accordingly. Three ships of Project P17A Advanced Stealth Frigates are being constructed using Modular Construction Technology, 3D Modelling concepts and latest software like Aveva Marine and NAPA. The first ship is progressing at a rapid pace with production being ahead of schedule while production of the second frigate is slated to commence shortly. GRSE was recently recognised as one of the "Next Fortune 500 Companies of India" at an Event Celebrating "India's Largest Midsize Companies and Value Creators"